Sao Tome U-17 Team Stranded In Cameroon

The Sao Tome and Principe national team that played against Cameroon in a FIFA Women U-17 World Cup qualifiers are among travellers stranded overseas after flight cancellations because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

The team comprising of 23 footballers and five officials was scheduled to leave Abidjan on Sunday via Malabo but discovered that their flight had been cancelled as Equatorial Guinea had closed its airspace.

Unable to get through to a booking agent to reschedule their flights, they drove to the airport to try to book with an agent at the terminal but were turned down as Cameroon had closed its borders, making it difficult for flights coming from other countries or leaving for Sao Tome.

The team also failed to fly on Wednesday after negotiations with Cameroonian government as bad weather disrupted their plane from flying again, causing another delay.

One of the players, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the Cameroonian FA was taking good care of them.

Sao Tome and Principe were hammered 6-0 in their return leg in Yaounde with Cameroon progressing 10-0 winners on aggregate.

The coronavirus outbreak has created worldwide airline chaos, leaving many people either stranded abroad or frustrated or confused about their travel plans due to cancelled flights or suspended routes to and from coronavirus-affected countries.