Karcher on the roof of the stadium, careful maintenance of the lawns, final strokes of paint in the streets: after concerns about its level of preparation, Côte d’Ivoire has stepped up the pace in preparation for the African Cup of Nations. nations, which starts on January 13.
“All eyes will be on Ivory Coast and we have no real fear,” assures François Amichia, president of the CAN organizing committee (Cocan). This serenity contrasts with the concerns that arose on September 12. That evening, a strong storm had flooded the lawn of the Ebimpé Olympic stadium, a 60,000-seat venue built at great expense for the CAN in the suburbs of Abidjan, leading to the end of a friendly match between Côte d’Ivoire. ‘Ivory and Mali.
An “exceptional rain”, according to the authorities, which nevertheless led to a government reshuffle including Prime Minister Patrick Achi and the Minister of Sports Paulin Danho. A new head of government, also holder of the Sports portfolio, Robert Beugré Mambé, has since been tasked with “organizing the most beautiful CAN in history”.
Three months later, the Ebimpé lawn, which will host ten matches, including the opening match and the final on February 11, now seems capable of absorbing water from storms. “We were all disturbed by what we saw. But the authorities have tackled the problem head on and the lawn is completely levelled. She is ready,” says the president of the Ivorian Federation Idriss Diallo, from the stands of the stadium… under heavy rain, at the beginning of December.
“We worked 20 hours a day”
“The lawn didn’t have enough slope and the soil lacked permeability. We put in place seepage slots, cleaned, re-seeded and corrected the planimetry of the lawn. We worked 20 hours a day for a week. Since then, we have had big storms and not a single puddle,” confirms Didier Pascal, the works director of the Gregori company, called to the rescue.
Five other venues, built or renovated, in Abidjan, Yamoussoukro (center), Bouaké (center), San Pedro (south) and Korhogo (north) will host the matches. “Thanks to our stadiums, we will become a hub for teams in the region who do not have approved grounds. Before, they were all going to play in Morocco, now they will come here,” predicts Idriss Diallo.
As with every major sporting event, the question of the legacy of stadiums arises, especially in a country where the local championship does not attract crowds. Organizers hope that the Ivorian D1 teams, almost all of which play in Abidjan today, will have more spectators thanks to stadiums closer to home.
1.5 million visitors expected
With nearly $1.5 billion in total investment, the CAN will also have made it possible to accelerate certain infrastructure projects. The “coastal”, 350 km road which connects the economic capital to the large port of San Pedro has been completely redone, halving the travel time between the two cities and another highway has been extended to connect Abidjan to Yamoussoukro then Bouaké , two host cities. Several “CAN cities” to accommodate the teams have also been built.
A leading international competition with 24 qualified teams, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Ghana, all bordering Ivory Coast, the CAN could attract up to 1.5 million visitors, according to the organizers. An event of unprecedented scale for a country which has only hosted the competition once, in 1984, with only eight nations competing.
The question of security is also one of the major concerns: in addition to the jihadist risk in this country bordering Mali and Burkina, the subject of crowd management is the main reason for concern raised by several specialized sources. Two years ago, eight people died in a stampede during the round of 16 of the CAN in Cameroon.
“We are going to open the stadiums very early, disciplining spectators into queues so that they can enter peacefully. We will ask people to come early,” Youssouf Kouyaté, the director general of the Ivorian police, told AFP. Some 17,000 elements of the defense and security forces as well as 2,500 stewards will be deployed for the competition. “This is not the first major event that Ivory Coast has to organize, we had the Francophonie Games (in 2017). We are calm,” concludes the police boss.
2023-12-18 14:12:03
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