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The 6th edition of the Chan competition kicked off in Yaounde on Saturday with two games that saw hosts Cameroon and Mali win their first games of the event.
The Indomitable Lions opened up Group A of the tournament with a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Saturday with Salomon Banga Bindjeme’s goal in the 72nd minute all they needed for a good start despite struggling to find the back of the net at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
Zimbabwe goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda was fortunate to have most of Cameroon’s attempts come straight at him, but will also take some credit for keeping the area clean for most of the game.
In the second game that happened on the opening day, Mali beat West African counterparts Burkina Faso 1-0, with Siaka Bagayoko goal (scored at almost the same time of the game as Cameroon’s) propelling Mali to joint top of group A with Cameroon, who they face next on Wednesday.
According to goal.com, before the game, Zimbabwe’s Zdravko Logarusic had claimed witchcraft was at play after a dead bat was found on the pitch before kick-off.
The games continue tomorrow Sunday with two fixtures featuring Libya against Niger and later the Democratic Republic of Congo face Congo Brazzaville.
Libya are in the tournament as the invited team after their neighbours Tunisia gave up their position citing congested domestic fixtures, Niger who they face saw off Ivory Coast in the qualifiers to make their third appearance at the competition.
The Opening game was attended by some of football’s biggest dignitaries including; Fifa president Gianni Infantino, Caf’s new honorary president Issa Hayatou and Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Ngute.
The sixth edition of CHAN was originally scheduled to take place in April last year but was postponed one month earlier due to the coronavirus crisis that paralysed all activities that involved mass gatherings.
This year’s CHAN is one of the largest football tournaments to take place anywhere in the world since the pandemic began.
Sixteen teams are playing in four groups of four, with the final taking place on 7 February, and stadiums can be filled up to 25 per cent of their capacity because of Covid-19 concerns.
