Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials on Saturday admitted that they had made a mistake when they announced earlier in the week that Cameroon captain Rigobert Song established a new Nations Cup record when he played his 25th game at the finals.
Song was honoured with an award presented by CAF president Issa Hayatou and at the time it was said that Song had broken the milestone of 24 set by Côte d’Ivoire goalkeeper Alain Gouamene.
However, CAF have now admitted that Song’s compatriot, defender Emmanuel Kunde, played 25 games at the finals.
”Kunde played just six minutes in the 1984 final, and somehow that must have slipped past our statisticians,” a CAF official said.
”But in any case, it made sense to make the presentation at the game against Togo, as the CAF president was present. In a way, the presentation was made in anticipation.”
Media reports at the time also falsely said that Song had become the first sub-Saharan player to be capped 100 times, but that honour also belongs to Kunde, who won 125 caps for the West African country — leaving Song more than 20 short. – Sapa-DPA