Edmond Tapsoba, 4 Other Burkina Faso Players Test Positive For Covid

Burkina Faso players Edmond Tapsoba, Soumalia Ouattara, Oula Traore, Dango Faissal and Simpore Saidou have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of Burkina Faso’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group A opener against hosts Cameroon.

The players were conspicuously missing from the Stallions squad that participated in the final training season on Saturday afternoon.

Several Burkinabe media outlets have reported a total of nine positives, including the national team head coach Kamou Malo, after the tournament organizers made the claims just 24 hours before the kick-off.

Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore, who was present in the pre-match conference, told reporters that all the players claimed to have tested positive are all fine and they did not test positive as claimed.

“It’s unacceptable what’s happening with COVID testing here, we can’t accept these results,” said Traore.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We demand that we test our players who have been tested positive again.”[/perfectpullquote]

Traore has further called on the Confederation of African Football to consider having neutral doctors travel to handle the issues of Covid-19 tests saying it will be the only way to end the suffering the teams are going through.

Whilst the other players have not been named, the Burkina Faso technical bench will likely confirm the identity of those with positive tests as they will miss the match against the Indomitable Lions on Sunday.

Updated at 16h58 GMT.