admin
LONDON. — Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has insisted that the Africa Cup of Nations deserves more respect. The Senegalese-born former France international is set to lose three of his players to the tournament when it kicks off in Cameroon on January 9.
Vieira, who tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and missed his team’s English Premiership match against Tottenham Hotspur, has highlighted the importance of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, backing players, including Ghana’s Jordan Ayew and Senegal attacker Sadio Mane to play at the upcoming championship in Cameroon.
Only less than 14 days until the start of the January 9 — February 6 gathering, the continental showpiece has become a major topic of discussions over player availability, amid calls from European clubs for a postponement or total cancellation.
Palace are set to lose not only Ayew but Senegal ace Cheikhou Kouyate, Liverpool will have to do without Egypt sensation Mohamed Salah and Guinea midfielder Naby Keita in addition to Mane, while a host of other English Premier League clubs will be without other key men.
“I respect and I understand the passion and importance of those players to go and represent their country. I will never stop any players going to the Africa Cup of Nations,” Vieira, who was born in Senegal before relocating to France as a child, said at a press conference on Friday before he tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday.
“I believe that competition has to be more respected because this competition is as important as the European Championship.
“With Senegal, I don’t think people understand (Sadio) Mane or Cheikhou Kouyate not representing their nation.
“If there was more coverage people will understand how important it is for the African continent.”
Amid the clamour, chiefly led by English clubs, for alteration to the upcoming gathering, the European Clubs Association (ECA) recently threatened not to allow players leave for AFCON, highlighting three major concerns in relation to health and safety concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic and the upsurge of the Omicron variant.
“Against this background, please note that, at its meeting of December 2021, the ECA Executive Board unanimously re-confirmed its position that the three principles referred to above must be strictly respected and, should this not be the case, that players not be released for national team duty,” read a part of ECA’s letter.
“At present, these three principles are at risk of not being respected in connection with the upcoming January releases.
“With regards to applicable protocols, as far as we are aware, CAF has not yet made available a suitable medical and operational protocol for the Afcon tournament, in the absence of which clubs will not be able to release players for the tournament.”
CAF have maintained the tournament will go on as planned, with players expected to honour call-ups to the gathering.
Meanwhile, Cameroonian Football Federation president Samuel Eto’o has made a strong claim as to why the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations should not be postponed.
With the tournament set to start in a few weeks, there have been several rumours that CAF’s executive committee was set to meet in Qatar to discuss the potential postponement or cancellation of AFCON 2021.
Responding to the speculation, CAF president Patrice Motsepe told reporters earlier last week that he was in Cameroon to take part in a meeting on Monday and Tuesday, where the prestigious African competition was a topic of discussion, and also said that he was “optimistic and excited” about the tournament, per Kingfut.
The pressure on CAF to cancel or postpone only grew after FIFA president Gianni Infantino seemingly backed the idea that it would be better if AFCON is played in September next year.
Per BBC World Football journalist Osasu Obayiuwana reports, Eto’o was also present at the meeting Motsepe attended, and the ex-Barcelona forward has now shared his view on any possible postponement of the tournament.
“I do not see a convincing reason to postpone the Africa Cup of Nations, the Euro was played during the pandemic with full stadiums,” the 40-year-old said, according to Kingfut.
“They played in many cities in Europe, so why shouldn’t we play in Cameroon?
“If some think we should postpone the tournament, they need to give a good reason.” — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter