The Confederation of African Football has announced that attendances during the Africa Cup of Nations will be capped at 80% for host nation Cameroon’s fixtures and 60% for other games due to Covid-19.
The African football governing body explained in a statement that the decision was taken after consultation with Cameroonian health authorities to safeguard against a potential surge in coronavirus cases.
The tournament will begin on Sunday with Cameroon taking on BAFurkina Faso at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, which can seat 60,000 people.
“After several consultations with the Cameroonian government, CAF and the local organising committee have agreed to cap stadium capacity between 60%-80% in the Africa Cup of Nations,” the governing body said in a statement.
“The 80% maximum capacity will only apply for matches of the host country Cameroon.”
The statement added that strict health protocols had been put into place for spectators, who must be fully vaccinated and present a negative test result to attend games.
Concerns about the readiness of stadiums and the spread of the Omicron Covid variant have made headlines in recent weeks, with Senegal delaying their departure for the tournament in Cameroon and Burkina Faso set to miss players in Sunday’s opening game.
Cape Verde Islands and Tunisia also reported new positive cases and Ivory Coast were forced to cancel a second warm-up match at their training base in Saudi Arabia.
Hosts Cameroon have a full complement training again after players returned from quarantine