In anticipation of the highly anticipated TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled a comprehensive safety and security plan that promises a world-class experience for participants and spectators alike.
Dr. Christian Emeruwa, the Head of Safety and Security at CAF, expressed utmost confidence in the robustness of the measures in place.
In an exclusive update to CAFOnline, Dr. Emeruwa assured the public that CAF, in collaboration with the Local Organising Committee, government authorities, and various safety and security agencies, has spared no effort in crafting an intricate plan.
This plan is meticulously designed to ensure the safety of the thousands of supporters, media personnel, and esteemed government officials and dignitaries expected to converge in Cote d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11 for the 34th edition of this prestigious event.
The magnitude of the event, as one of Africa's grandest football spectacles, necessitates an unprecedented level of coordination.
Dr. Emeruwa's statement underscored the commitment to a safe and secure environment, signaling a joint effort from multiple stakeholders to make the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON a benchmark for safety standards in international sporting events.
“This TotalEnergies AFCON is one that will be witnessing a very robust safety and security arrangement by CAF that has ever been seen in Africa. We have been working very closely with the COCAN safety and security commission to develop a comprehensive safety and security concept to be used in the delivery of this event. CAF has provided expert support services and so from our part, we have developed this concept and embarked on a series of trainings in supporting COCAN by training all venue safety and security officers across the host cities, hotel security coordinators, training site security coordinators, escort commanders of all teams and match officials” assured Dr Emeruwa.
Over the last 12 months, the CAF Safety and Security Division has conducted a number of site inspections and training workshops across the five host cities where stadiums, airports, hotels, training sites, ticket outlets and other key operational areas were regularly inspected to ensure that they are up to the high standards required by CAF to host a safe and secure TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.
“Just recently in November, we were here in Cote d’Ivoire to provide additional support training in the areas. These capacity trainings are required for a delivery of a safe AFCON. We have gone a step ahead to involve sensitisation with all the prefectures like the governors of each city to talk about what we expect from the help of Government in respect to safety and security” concluded Dr Emeruwa.
The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations remains Africa’s biggest event and continues to attract thousands of visitors and millions of viewers globally.