By Biwah Bryan
The President of the National Communication Council, Joseph Chebongkeng Kalabubse has urged media outlets in Cameroon to refrain from hate speech, uphold objectivity, and strengthen social solidarity in the ongoing 2023 AFCON tournament.
The President made the call via a communique dated January 23rd, 2023, following the observation of recurring instances of hate speech during AFCON.
An illustration of such hate speech during the AFCON was brought to light when a Cameroonian TikTok user made derogatory comments about the host country in one of her videos where she said ‘We were told that there was no dust in Abidjan. I thought there was no dust here, but here it is’.
Additionally, some Cameroonians insulted the opening ceremony organized by Ivory Coast, unfavorably comparing it to the previous ceremony held in Cameroon in 2021.
In response to these, the National Communication Council has called upon all actors in the mass media sector to abide by the professional and ethical guidelines and
to fulfill their obligation to preserve social harmony and a sense of patriotism during the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
President Chebongkeng emphasized the importance of objective media coverage during the AFCON and urged media outlets to encourage social cohesion and to promote the values of fair play, patriotism, and unity.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
Djamel Belmadi Head Coach of the Algeria national team has said, the development of football has reached every corner of the continent, hence it is dangerous to under any team in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria lost by a lone to Mauritania and has been kicked out of the competition for the second consecutive time.
Speaking to the media, Coach Belmadi said ‘We are out of the AFCON for the second time and that’s football. That’s?how it is.?
‘We have not been able to score,?and?we have not been able to make the difference.
‘As I said in the beginning, we don’t have any small team in this AFCON and you can be punished anytime with a set piece or a penalty, so we are not able to finish our chances and create more,’ he noted.
The Coach said, ‘The observation right here is that we have conceded a goal, we can come back here and look at the goals that?we?conceded.?There are some?things that I cannot explain;?we haven’t been able to score even though we had good plans and tactics.
‘This is the mystery of foo
tball. If we do not create chances, if we were dominated by chances created by the opponent teams, if we missed a lot opportunities, then we could say there is a sector that is not good but that was not the case in the matches we played, so these are things I can’t explain,’ he added.
Source: Ghana News Agency