On Monday, January 24, eight people were killed and several others injured following a stampede outside the Younde Olembe stadium.
Following the tragic scenes, AFCON governing body CAF (Confederation Africaine de Football) released a statement condoling the bereaved families.
CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, confirmed that the quarter-final match that was scheduled to be played at the Olembe Stadium will now be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
He announced that the measures were put in place to prevent a repeat of similar scenes pending a full report of an investigation committee consisting of CAF and local organising committee members.
The CAF President stated that a moment of silence would be observed during all future AFCON matches.
“When people lose their lives, you must be angry. You must be impatient, you must ask questions and you must demand explanations. And you must demand a guarantee that it will never happen again. And we have done that.
“We are saddened when there is loss of life and all of us should put aside the legal issues and take responsibility. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends. The CAF family is deeply hurt. We would like to convey our deepest condolences to the families, friends and relatives of the people who lost their lives yesterday,” Motsepe stated.
Motsepe was quick to highlight that it is the responsibility of everyone involved with the planning to ensure that the tournament runs smoothly.
“The legal responsibility for security is up to the local organising committee, but we are partners, we all have a duty. We need to put in preventative measures to ensure that what happened never happens again.
“Clearly there were deficiencies, failures. There are things that should have been foreseen. We will have very hard discussions behind closed doors,” he added.
The President also explained what led to the chaos adding that investigations are underway to find out what exactly happened.
“One of the gates was closed that shouldn’t have been, who closed that gate and why?
“We have a duty to find out exactly what happened and more importantly to put in appropriate measures to ensure that what happened never happens again. When people lose their lives, we all should be angry. We have to demand explanations and guarantees that it will never happen again,” Motsepe highlighted.
Motsepe also indicated that CAF would reach out to all the families of the eight supporters who lost their lives in the coming days.
The CAF President visited the victims of the Olembe stadium on January 25.
“This morning I was at the hospital and visited the injured people. At this moment our greatest attention is on the people who have suffered. I wanted to visit the injured spectators last night but was advised to allow the doctor and the medical staff to focus on the injured spectators. I want to reaffirm that we are very sorry, and we will assist the injured and the families of those who lost their lives in whichever manner possible,” Mosepe added.