A sad tale via Reuters, as hundreds of Guinea fans won’t be able to make the trek to Ghana for the African Nations’ Cup because of safety fears when the route passes through the Ivory Coast.

Guinea has cancelled convoys of buses supposed to ferry supporters to the African Nations Cup, which starts on Sunday in Ghana, because of fears of banditry when crossing war-divided Ivory Coast.

President Lansana Conte’s government has instead chartered a plane to fly some 200 supporters to the Ghanaian capital Accra to watch Guinea face the tournament’s hosts in its opening game on Sunday.

But the cancellation of the 20 buses could deprive hundreds of supporters of the chance to view their team in action as regular flights are too expensive for many ordinary Africans.

Hopefully as many as possible can go by air, but it’ll detract from the opener’s atmosphere if most can’t make it.

Via Du Nord