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THE president of the Confed-
eration of African Football
(Caf) has said there will be
a “zero tolerance” approach
to ensuring stadiums are safe
at the 2023 Africa Cup of
Nations (Afcon), which kicks
off in January.
Speaking at the draw for
next year’s tournament in
Ivory Coast, Patrice Motsepe
acknowledged “avoidable”
mistakes had been made dur-
ing the 2021 tournament in
Cameroon, which witnessed
a tragedy when at least eight
people were killed in a crush
outside Yaounde’s Olembe
Stadium.
“There’s a huge amount
of focus because the safety
of our spectators is crucial,”
Motsepe told BBC Sport
Africa.
“When families come to
watch a football match, they
have to be absolutely assured
that, from a Caf perspective
and our partners, we have
done everything possible in
line with global best practices
to make sure that the facilities and the infrastructure are
safe. “There’s zero toler-
ance.”
Two test events will be
held at the Felix Houphouet
Boigny Stadium in Abidjan
when Ivory Coast hosts
friendly games against Mo-
rocco and South Africa.
The tragedy in January
2022 unfolded after a gate to
the Olembe Stadium in Ya-
ounde was opened as a result
of a heavy build-up of specta-
tors during a Nations Cup
last-16 match between hosts
Cameroon and Comoros.
The stadium was kept
as the venue for the final,
despite the fatal incident.
“Some mistakes were
made, and some of those
mistakes were avoidable,”
said Motsepe.
“We’re very clear that the
quality of infrastructure to
host the top African competi- tion has to be world class.
“What we’re doing over
the next few months is to
make sure that the infrastruc-
ture in its totality is excel-
lent.”
