Host Cameroon and Cape Verde began the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with wins over Burkina Faso and Ethiopia respectively.
The opening ceremony was a beautiful as 88-year-old Paul Biya was paraded around the new stadium in the company of his wife to a rousing applauds from the fans. The current President is Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were in attendance and also, Congolese singer-songwriter, Fally Ipupa was on ground to entertain the fans before the grand kickoff.
Interestingly, the opening goal of the tournament was scored by Burkina Faso’s Gustavo Sangare who acrobatically volleyed home a cross from Aston Villa’s Bentrand Traore.
But the Villa man allowed the Toni Conceicao’s men back in the game as he conceded a penalty and vetran forward, Vincent Aboubakar stepped up to finish with aplomb.
Aboubakar put the game to bed with a second penalty goal in the second half as Cameroon took top spot in Group A with a 2-1 win.
Meanwhile, Julio Tavares scored the winner as Cape Verde began their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-0 victory over Ethiopia who played most of the game with 10 men after a defender got sent off in the 17th minute.
