With the Egypt 2019 Nations Cup now in the crucial knockout stages, former Cameroonian international, Samuel Eto’o and other legends here have given the tournament a passmark.
In the eyes of iconic figures, Samuel Eto’o, Senegalese El Hadji Diouf and former Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan, the on going historic edition which has 24 teams and played in the month of June-July ranks amongst the best on all levels – organisation, infrastructure, technical and tactical abilities and to mention but few.
At a press conference at the Cairo International Stadium, CAF Deputy General Secretary, Anthony Baffoe, joined by the three former players, presented an evaluation of the competition thus far to the public.
“Egypt has done a great example of amazing organization in less than six months and I want to commend the Local Organising Committee for the efforts put together towards hosting a memorable tournament. We’ve had great pitches and training facilities. We have good games till now,” Baffoe said.
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Eto’o, who won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002 with Cameroon, said “I commend CAF on this brilliant idea of bringing 24 teams to AFCON and producing such a great tournament. We are doing our best to celebrate African football. I’m happy to be here and celebrate African football with my friends.
“Changing the period from January – February to June – July was A brilliant idea because most of the players lost their places in their clubs when it was played in January,” Eto’o noted.
Diouf, was a pivotal part of the Golden generation of the Teranga Lions in the 2000’s and reached the final in 2002, losing to Cameroon on penalties.
Having featured in four editions, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, the iconic forward said: “the organization here in Egypt has been excellent. We are lucky to find such great pitches and training fields. We have seen excellent matches and joyful moments.
“The level of the first round was very good. We saw teams like Mauritania who I salute much because they have improved a lot. Many teams have surprised me.”
On the part of Ahmed Hassan, he said: “I’m proud of what Egypt had done till now and hopefully we continue like that. Everyone is doing his best to have the best tournament ever.”
