For the first time, FIFA experts are accompanying those from CAF for an inspection of the CAN 2021 infrastructures. The emissaries of the two bodies will stay in Cameroon from May 22 to 28, 2021.

From our correspondent in Cameroon

A joint CAF and FIFA mission is announced to Cameroon. From this Saturday, May 22, the experts dispatched by the two bodies of African and world football begin an inspection visit of the CAN 2021 infrastructures.

The competition, the first under the Motsepe era, the new president of CAF, will take place from January 9 to February 6, 2022, in the country of Samuel Eto’o. For a week, the team of inspectors will tour the stadiums and hotels in the host cities of the tournament, in particular Yaoundé, Douala, Limbe, Buea, Bafoussam and Garoua.

The case of the Olembé complex

Among all the infrastructures on the program for this visit, the Olembé Sports Complex, located in the capital, will be the center of attention. The futuristic jewel that will house the opening match and the final of CAN 2021 should have been delivered in October 2020. But the government, a year earlier (December 2019), terminated the contract of the Italian Piccini, in charge of work since 2015 for lack of result.

To catch up, Cameroon has entrusted the rest of the work to Magil. But the Canadian company also experienced an abrupt halt in work between January and March 2021. Life resumed on the site in April. And since then, we have witnessed a real race against time on the site where the Cameroonian Minister of Sports has been increasing unannounced visits lately.

The infrastructure must be definitively delivered in November 2021. And according to engineers on the ground, Cameroon has no reason to worry. All the structural work is completed. The two additional stadiums are almost ready: the esplanades have been sunk and the athletics tracks are waiting to be completed.

As for the main stadium with 60,000 seats, the lawn is already usable. The first sound tests have been carried out successfully.

The laying of pangolin scales on the stadium’s metal framework continues. Ditto with the installation of the first lockers, the landscaping and the concreting of the exterior courtyards. We also note the 90% completion of the tiling of the shopping center and 40% of the hotel rooms etc.

A stop at the Palais des Sports

In addition to the inspection of the Olembé complex, the preparation of the Cameroonian CAN draw ceremony is also an important point of the CAF-FIFA joint mission. The group of experts will stop at the Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Palace, the site chosen for the ceremony scheduled for June 25.

Anthony Baffoe, Deputy Secretary General in charge of football development, heads the CAF delegation. While on the FIFA side, we could find well-known executives such as competition director Jaime Yarza Gonzalez, tournament manager and events officer Colin Smith.