Six people died in Guinea after the national team won a football match.
Guinea beat The Gambia 1-0 on Friday night in their second group game at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Aguibou Camara scored late. Within minutes of the final whistle, fans in the capital, Conakry, were out on the roads in cars and on motorcycles. Many drove around sitting on car bonnets.
The Guinean football federation, Feguifoot, told the BBC that six people had died. A police source told Agence France Presse that three of them were killed when two vehicles collided at high speed, and that several dozen others were hurt in road accidents.
Appeals for calm
Feguifoot media manager Amadou Makadji asked fans to hold back. “They have to be very careful to not put themselves in danger, because the goal of football is to bring joy and not leave families bereaved,” he told BBC Sport Africa. “We do not want deaths to mourn.”
Pascal Feindouno, a former star who played at four Nations Cups and helped Guinea reach three straight quarter-finals between 2004 and 2008, joined him. The 42-year-old spoke to the BBC from Yamoussoukro, where the team is based. News of the deaths, he said, “will destabilise us.” His message to supporters: “Support the country but don’t do anything to kill each other or oneself. Stay calm.”
A win that fans had waited for
The victory came after a 1-1 draw with Cameroon in the opener. It was only Guinea’s third win in their last 15 Nations Cup matches, going back to 2012, which helps explain the scenes in the street. The result lifted them to second in Group C with four points, two behind defending champions Senegal and three ahead of five-time winners Cameroon. The Gambians had none.
Guinea, runners-up in 1976, were chasing a first title in their 14th attempt. Many supporters had travelled by road from Conakry to Ivory Coast, a journey of some 1,000 miles. On Tuesday the team were due to face Senegal for top spot in the group and the chance to stay in Yamoussoukro for the second round.
Sources
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Sources
- Afcon 2023: Calls for calm in Guinea after six fans die amid Afcon…
- 6 Guinea fans die in wild celebration on cars & motorbikes …
