Spotted drone over Algerian practice field turns out to be journalists' high-tech sneak peek
This year's Africa Cup of Nations is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire, concurrently with the European club season. The continental champion will be unveiled in January and February, with the Algerian national team as one of the hopefuls to claim the trophy.
11:52 AM EST, January 14, 2024
In the last tournament, Algeria failed to advance from the group stage, marking a disappointing performance following their victory in 2019. As a result, they've returned to the Africa Cup of Nations with a stronger determination to improve on their previous showing.
The Algerian team began their preparations at the training facility earlier in the week, with the coach deciding to keep most training sessions private. He believes that secret preparation would give them an advantage for the upcoming matches.
The Algerian team was alarmed when they spotted a drone hovering over the field during a training session. Initially, their opponents were suspects of staging a spy scandal, leading them to involve the police. However, the complete picture emerged to be considerably less sinister.
The police took the task of identifying the drone operator seriously. A video surfaced in the media showing field interrogation of a citizen of Côte d'Ivoire. Assuming the individual was truthful to the authorities, he wasn't commissioned to spy by any team.
What truly happened was that the Algerian journalists were more cunning than the coach. According to the DZfoot portal, the Algerian press decided to take a sneak peek at the field with a drone during the training. The journalists' action, however, backfired when the drone operator was caught, causing an embarrassing situation before the tournament.
