#AFCON21: CAF Postpone Quater-Final Game from Olembe Stadium following Stampede Incident

By Buzi Brown January 25, 2022 | 4:26 PM

The Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) has announced that the quarter-final game will be moved from the Olembe Stadium at the African Cup of Nations ( AFCON).

Olembe Stadium

The decision to move the game from Olembe to Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium was because of the recent stampede that happened during the game between Cameroon and Comoros in the Round of 16 fixture. The host nation won the game 2-1 on Monday, January 24th, 2022.

Governor of the central region of Cameroon, Naseri Biya confirmed the stampede after the game. According to reports, the situation occurred when people tried to force their way into the stadium, leaving eight persons dead and 38 others injured.

President of CAF, Patrice Motsepe has called for an investigation into what really happened that lead to the death of those football fans.

We have to make sure the safely of every single spectator is our primary concern. There is zero tolerance on circumstances which could result in people being injured at a stadium or losing their lives. We have to take emergency and urgent steps now so I have called for a meeting tomorrow and I will have to sought the guidance and advice of my vice presidents. I need a report on what happened, the circumstances that led to people being injured and emergency measures to make that does not happen again. We have to take collective responsibility. There must be a committee set up immediately to investigate what happened and find out who did not perform their responsibilities. We want that report by Friday. The game that is scheduled to take place at Olembe Stadium on Sunday is not going to take place. It is going to take place at Ahmadou Ahidjo.

The Olembe Stadium was supposed to host the game between the winner of Ivory Coast vs Egypt and the winner of Morocco vs Malawi.