The celebration of African football was marred by the Afcon’s deadly tragedy

Cape Town — The celebration of African football will long be overshadowed by the scars of a tragedy that killed eight people at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon.

It was Carlos Queiroz, the Mozambican-born coach of Egypt, who reminded Samuel Eto'o, the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation, that Africa's devotion and its love for football should be evident at the continental showpiece.

"Football is about celebration, it's about joy, it's about happiness,” said Queiroz, in response to Eto'o who warned his fellow countryman to prepare for "war" ahead of Cameroon's semi-final against Egypt.

No one could have foreseen the tragedy which happened at the 60 000-seater Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé on the evening when hosts Cameroon played Comoros in a Round of 16 fixture. Initial reports into the cause of the tragedy revealed that an entrance gate was locked when it should have been open.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe said afterwards: "If that gate was open, as it was supposed to be, we would not have had this problem, this loss of life. Who closed that gate?"

Eight fans who went to the game did not return home.

It was a shattering blow to the image of the tournament, It already had to deal with defamatory remarks of the highest order from football big shots around the world. The celebrated Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told the media: "In January, there is a little tournament in Africa."

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse took Klopp to task: "Who does he think he is? I respect Liverpool but not Klopp, who undermines African football. He is where he is today because of African footballers."

Two Liverpool players Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Sadio Mane (Senegal) were far and away the most high-profile players at the