Football-mad Cameroon ready at long last for Cup of Nations

The wait is finally over for Cameroon, which from Sunday hosts the Africa Cup of Nations three years later than initially planned as its own Indomitable Lions measure up to the likes of reigning champions Algeria, the Senegal of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah's Egypt.

Cameroon was initially supposed to be the host nation in 2019, before being stripped of the tournament due to delays in its preparations, with Egypt replacing it. The 33rd Cup of Nations was then postponed last year because of the pandemic.

The Central African country of 27 million people was therefore determined to press on with the competition amid reports last month that leading European clubs wanted it postponed again due to Covid concerns.

This time it does go ahead, starting Sunday when Cameroon, coached by Portugal's Toni Conceicao, take on Burkina Faso in Yaounde, but the spectre of the coronavirus is not going away.

Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabon team-mate Mario Lemina tested positive on Thursday and were in isolation in their hotel.

Senegal, Africa's top-ranked national team, travelled to Cameroon without three members of their squad who had tested positive.

"Unprecedented times," tweeted Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz on Friday after reports emerged of positive tests in his squad's camp.

"The more the situation becomes, the more we stay together and strong," he added.