Afcon 2021: Not just Covid, security also a concern
Jihadist raiders also pose a problem in the north, at least beyond the city of Garoua
Covid, though, is far from the only concern in a country dealing with a conflict in the English-speaking west.
Matches in Group F, featuring Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia, are due to be played in Limbe, a coastal city close to Mount Cameroon which is also a hotspot of separatist unrest.
Jihadist raiders also pose a problem in the north, at least beyond the city of Garoua where Egypt and Nigeria will play group games.
It is because of the health crisis that organizers have capped crowd limits at 60 percent of capacity, or 80 percent when the hosts play.
Spectators must be vaccinated and have a negative test result, but only six percent of the adult population is inoculated.
Cameroon, though, is football mad and many fans will be desperate to attend games in a country that has only hosted the Cup of Nations once before, in 1972 when there were just eight participants.
However, the nation that gave the world the likes of Roger Milla and Samuel Eto'o -- the latter now president of the Cameroonian Football Federation -- no longer boasts the same level of stardust.
They have Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana and Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, but the real superstars of the continent will be elsewhere.
Holders Algeria, unbeaten in 33 competitive games, will be led by Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez, while Morocco have PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi and Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, amongst others.
Nigeria, meanwhile, cross the border without Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, or Watford's Emmanuel Dennis, whose club said they received notice of his call-up too late.
In any case this Cup of Nations is not just about the big names, as the Gambia, ranked 148th in the world, and the Indian Ocean island state of Comoros make their debuts.
