The long wait is over, and the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is finally here. Cameroon and Burkina Faso will kick-off the 33rd edition of Africa’s flagship competition when they lock horns at the totally new Olembe Stadium in Cameroon capital Yaoundé on Sunday, 9 January 2022.
Group: A
Match: Cameroon v Burkina Faso
Date: Sunday 9 January 2022
Time: 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT/ 4:00PM local time)
Venue: Olembe Stadium, Yaounde
TV broadcasts: GTV Sports Plus, GBC, BSkyB ,Canal+ ,SuperSport, StarTimes, ESPN, beIN Sports, CAF TV and many others accros the globe.
Cameroon – Indomitable Lions for a dream start
Five-time African champions Cameroon are at home, and they will be looking forward to a good start in front of their faithful supporters.
The Indomitable Lions, who have been preparing since the end of December, will start this competition with the desire to win their sixth AFCON title at home.
Fifty years since hosting the continental showpiece in 1972, Cameroon is hoping for the ultimate this time round.
What they said
Antonio Conceiçao (Coach, Cameroon)
“It is for a new challenge with the Indomitable Lions. We will try to achieve our ambitions. We prepared well and now we are ready for the competition. Our opponent is not an easy team. But we have the strength and determination to make a good start.” he told CAF MEDIA.
Vincent Aboubacar (Forward, Cameroon)
“On behalf of all Cameroonians, welcome to all the teams who will participate in this TotalEnergies AFCON. We will play hard to achieve a good competition. We are focused on our goal and prepared well for this competition.”
Burkina Faso – Stallions with a mission to perform
On the Burkinabe side, the ambitions look high. The Stallions traveled to Cameroon with the firm intention of doing better than their best outing in 2013, when they narrowly lost the final to Nigeria.
Facing the hosts in the opening might be a tough start, but The Burkinabe look like a team with a mission that they will do everything to perform.
What they said
Sanou Firmen (Assistant coach, Burkina Faso)
“We are facing the hosts which is difficult. But we have the means to achieve our objectives, and to go as far as possible in this competition. We will play with a young generation of talented players. Our first objective is to get past the group stage and our ultimate target is the title.”
Bertrand Traoré (Forward, Burkina Faso)
“We have a good team. For me, it is a pleasure to be here and I have the intention of playing at my best level and bringing what’s most expected of me.