The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has blamed officials at the Yaounde Olembe stadium for the stampede that led to the death of eight spectators at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said, “There was an abnormal number of people including those who did not have tickets. Thousands of people more than what was expected did arrive in a manner that is not properly coordinated and governed.”

The continent’s football chief faulted officials for shutting the stadium gates against fans, adding that nobody would have died if the gate was opened as it was supposed to.

He admitted that several irregularities were observed with the organisation of the round of 16 fixture between Cameroon and Comoros, stating that the stadium received spectators that were way more than CAF’s approved figure.

CAF had approved a maximum of 40,000 fans in the 60,000 seater stadium for matches of Africa’s top soccer tournament, however, Cameroonian police disclosed that more than 57,000 spectators were at the stadium to watch the match resulting in the deadly stampede.

On the way forward, Mr Motsepe ruled out possibilities of suspending the tournament despite the tragic incident, but noted that the Yaounde Olembe stadium would not be hosting subsequent fixtures of the tournament.

He disclosed that matches initially billed to take place at the stadium would now be played at Yaounde’s Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.

On Monday, no fewer than eight persons were reported dead in a stampede during the AFCON round of 16 clash between Cameroon and Comoros at Yaounde Olembe Stadium.