With the Africa Cup of Nations set to start in less than one month, on 9 January 2022, several rumours surged suggesting that the tournament might be postponed or even canceled.

This is due to the fact that several European clubs are reluctant to let their African players travel to Cameroon mainly due to fear of them contracting Covid-19.

However, CAF previously released an official statement confirming the AFCON starting date remains the same as there is no reason to postpone the tournament.

In his visit to Cameroon, CAF president Patrice Motsepe declared that they are ready to show the world the best of African football and hospitality.

“We are ready to show the world the best of African football, but also the best of African hospitality, Africans are caring and loving people,” Motsepe said.

“I will be here [in Cameroon] on January 7th, so come January night they must kick-off.

“It’s also important that we have to believe in our people, we have to stop being the ones that lack confidence in our own people.

“All over the world, there are competitions where there are challenges, and sometimes people get 95%, we have to be more optimistic.

“Sometimes we are over critical of ourselves, if we don’t have confidence in our people, who will?

“I am very optimistic and excited, and I am also very proud of my brothers here. This is the generation where the Africans must believe in Africa. We can host a football competition that’s as good as you can see in Europe or anywhere in the world.”