VAR will be used in the 2021 AFCON
2021 AFCON to start from January 9 to February 6
The tournament will be hosted in six different cities in Cameroon
Arsenal legend, Ian Wright has slammed European journalists for their consistent disrespect towards the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, which was initially scheduled to be played between June and July 2021, is set to kick off from January 9 in Cameroon to February 6.
The tournament was postponed to 2022 due to the outbreak and the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, many top African stars in Europe whose countries have qualified for the tournament will leave their respective clubs to represent their countries in the competition.
This has resulted in an attempt by journalists and the European Clubs Association to prevent the players from answering their nation’s call using Coronavirus concerns as their excuse.
However, Ian Wright believes the Africa Cup of Nations which is the second oldest continental competition in the World after Copa America needs to be given the respect it needs as he feels the tournament has been looked down on for far too long.
“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations? There’s no greater honour than representing your country as a sportsperson. The coverage is completely tainted with racism.”
“There were no issues when we [Europeans] played our Euros in the middle of a pandemic across 10 countries. But Cameroon, a single country hosts a tournament and it becomes a problem?
“You get journalists asking players if they will be honouring the call ups for their national teams but can they ask an English player if he will honour a call-up to the Three Lions, can you imagine what would have happened?
“The shame [around the AFCON] has gone on for too long,” the former England international said in a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb.