Controversy over the Africa Cup of Nations has been ongoing, especially when it comes to security. During the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, the participating teams were closely protected, but this still made many players feel afraid.
"But a lot of the players come from places with safety issues, like Nigeria or Côte d'Ivoire, so they're used to it. They are proud to serve their country, so they don't disappoint people. Engamba Ledoux, head of event safety, said confidently.
Meanwhile, more than 40 Premier League players, including Mosarah, Mane, Mahrez and Aubameyang, are also competing, and in order to ensure the safety of these big-name players, Cameroon has adopted methods including curfews and arranged for troops to be stationed in hotels, training grounds and on and off the pitch, especially for those who are expensive, and even equipped with several police forces for each player.
The caution of Cameroon and FIFA is not without reason, as buses carrying Togolese players and staff were overshadowed by terrorist attacks in Angola during the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
The bus driver, a reporter and assistant coach were all killed, and Adebayor was also in the car at the time of the terrorist attack.
Subsequently, the group planning the terrorist attack issued a statement saying that they had intended to attack the bus of the Côte d'Ivoire team, did not want to target the Togolese team, but only recognized the wrong target.
At present, the threat of attacks in Cameroon is real. Clashes between english-speaking "rebels" and French-speaking governments have arisen frequently, killing thousands of people and forcing more than 700,000 people to flee their homes over the past four years. Both sides feared that the other would attack itself during the Africa Cup of Nations ceasefire.
Nowadays, event participants are using every means to ensure safety, such as mascot actors wearing bulletproof vests inside their coats, after all, they need to spend a long time outdoors to promote the event, which is easy to be a target.