A one hundred and sixty thousands square foot of artificial turf which was recently removed from Douala Reunification Stadium to pave way for placement of natural grass ahead of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations has been stolen and sold into the black market.
The edifice in Douala is one of four being constructed for next year’s tournament.
The Central African nation has struggled to meet up for the event, with Morocco placed on standby.
In a scheme blamed on unscrupulous synthetic grass installers, tones of artificial turf have been taken out of the stadium premises for the last three days by motorcycle taxi men who have been carrying it away in broad daylight.
Douala Stadium, Cameroon’s artificial turf has been stolen. The stadium is meant to be used for AFCON 2019. pic.twitter.com/dKys8aJfoh
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) March 14, 2018
“The stadium construction is under the administration of a new director but this grass was put by the Cameroonian Federation (Fecafoot) who are its owner,” a local journalist, Nathaniel Njog, told soka25east.
“I fail to understand why this artificial turf which is in a good condition is being sold instead of being placed in small stadiums such as Wouri, Nkam, Moungo, Sanaga-Maritime which were recently approved to host the matches of the Division 2 Championship and possibly to be training stadiums for professional league clubs.”
Non-punitive fines and punishment have partly fuelled vandalism of stadiums and other critical infrastructure in the country.
