More COVID-19 cases hit Africa Cup of Nations teams

Four Cameroon players have tested positive for COVID-19, with the Africa Cup of Nations hosts set to kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso in just over a week’s time, the country’s football federation said on Friday.
Other teams preparing for the finals, scheduled to start on January 9, also revealed cases of Covid-19, after the Cape Verdean team announced that 7 other players were infected with the virus, in addition to a player in the Moroccan national team. This comes in addition to the injuries announced by Algeria and Cote d'Ivoire, on Thursday, and the Ivory Coast national team may also be deprived of the efforts of the main goalkeeper Van Gboho due to the suspension.

The International Federation (FIFA) suspended Gboho, who plays in Ethiopia, after he failed a test to detect a performance-enhancing substance.
The decision was announced by the Ethiopian Football Association, but it was not confirmed by the Ivory Coast Football Association.

On the other hand, Eric Maxime Choupo-Moting of Cameroon was injured during training and is waiting to see if he can play. The Cameroon Football Federation said that the Bayern Munich player, who is expected to lead the host country's attack line, felt "severe pain in his right knee" and had an X-ray and was awaiting the result, amid fears that the 32-year-old striker would be absent from the tournament.
Cameroon also announced that prominent defender Michel Ngadou-Ngadguiola, midfielder Pierre Conde Malong, winger Christian Bassogog and reserve goalkeeper Jean Ivala, have all been infected with Corona.

The Cape Verdean national team had already canceled an international friendly match against Morocco before it announced new cases of the virus in its internal camp, on Friday.

The Cape Verdean national team said in a statement that the infected players are subject to self-isolation, but they do not complain of any symptoms, and that only 15 players participated in the training Friday.

The Moroccan defender Badr Banoun, who was included by the coach in the squad at the last moments, also decided to postpone his plans to join the Moroccan national team in its camp in the Emirates, after he was infected with Corona.

on Thursday, Cote d'Ivoire national team revealed  that players coming from Europe to its camp in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had contracted the virus and the local authorities had placed them in quarantine.

The Algerian national team said earlier this week that its players Youssef Belaili, Mohamed Amine Togay and Hussein Ben Ayada had contracted COVID-19 at a training camp in Qatar.