By Bakah Derick
It was a near full Olembe Stadium as Cameroon played host to the opening of the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021. The fans began arriving the stadium as early as 8am so as to either get tested and vaccinated or to find a place for those who had done both earlier.
"I was hear around 8:20am and I met a long line that wanted to be vaccinated. I waited for about an hour and was tested and vaccinated. I didn't take so much time as I expected but there was no way I could miss the operating ceremony." Lillian Ngegong said
Within the early hours, visiting the Olembe stadium health stands was systematic but this didn't last long especially at the verification point where a health pass is issued for access to the stadium.
"I am surprised at the way it was easy to enter the stadium. I came in last week and only got to Yaounde early on Sunday morning. I was hoping that I will get tested at the stadium but when I arrived I presented my vaccination certificates and I was just allowed to enter. Even when I got to Douala I was not tested." Samuel A Ghanaian fan tells me in the stadium and adds that "you can see I have no mask even inside here. I am happy Cameroon is not too strict on the restrictions. It allows us to live the football feast with less pressure."
Many others had ways they entered 'stadium. Your skin colour, who you moved with and how you carried yourself determined your level of check.
"I came in with several foreign colleagues mostly whites. I had no test or vaccine but they gave the health pass to us all without asking anything." A journalist whose consent to be named was not sort but we decide to withhold the name.
As many narratives of beating health checkpoints emerged in the Media Tribune, those who made sure they were regular felt cheated.
"To be honest I am very disappointed with the COVID restrictions announced. I regret I took this vaccine because it makes no sense to see almost everyone here saying that they are not vaccinated yet they got access to the stadium. How did they? It is my love for football that made me receive that vaccine not because I wanted to." Another journalist we will not name said in anger
The Cameroon Government and CAF had fixed stadium entry conditions on vaccine against COVID-19, a negative test and a ticket. This was heavily critised by many. Information however circulated that the objective was to boast vaccination numbers in the country.
Many proposed a postponement of the tournament for fear of COVID-19 but Cameroon went on to organise the competition with the promise to set up strict health control systems.