Afcon final scheduling a ‘shame for African football’ – Cameroon head coach

Cameroon head coach Toni Conceicao believes that the Africa Cup of Nations scheduling risks compromising the competitiveness of the competition, and has described the weekend’s fixture programme as a ‘shame for African football’.

The Portuguese manager must prepare his Indomitable Lions side for their third-placed playoff against Burkina Fast at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde on Saturday, less than 48 hours after they were defeated by Egypt in the second semi-final.

For the Pharaohs, who meet Senegal in Sunday’s final, they must prepare for a continental showpiece with only two full days’ rest, having previously played three matches—all of which went to extra time—in an eight-day period.

“We are in the same situation [as Egypt],” Conceicao told GOAL. “[It’s] not easy.

“It’s a shame for African football that the coaches and players are not at 100 percent. As coaches, we have to find the best solution, and Egypt’s head coach has to find solution as well.”

Egypt actively pleaded with the Confederation of African Football to push the final back to Monday in light of the exertions of their players, particularly in particularly humid and demanding conditions in Cameroon.

However, even though Senegal have benefited from an extra day’s rest as they prepare for Sunday’s clash, the Pharaohs’ pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

“[Caf] have to organise it to find what is best for safety and security of players,” Conceicao continued. “We are just the actors who must follow the regulations as everyone else does.

“It’s not easy to recover in 48 hours, science proves that players can’t be recovered totally,” he added. “We’ll try and refresh our team, but it’s impossible after 120 minutes, after the emotion demands, to