A sea of legendary African footballers is expected to attend a special soccer game organized in honour of Roger Milla who turns 70 today.

Samuel Eto’o Fils, Rigobert Song, Schout Ajara,  Abdoulaye Traoré, Emmanuel Eboué, El Hadj Diouf, Falilou Fadiga, Mark Fish are among the greats who will pay a vibrant tribute to Roger Milla at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé.

Jules Denis Onana, a former teammate during the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy said football fans have turned their attention to Yaoundé for the event that will be aired via state radio and television.  

Born on May 20, 1952 in Yaoundé, Roger Milla was an exceptional football player who wrote the most beautiful pages of Cameroonian soccer. The African football player of the last century banked 102 selections, 36 goals with the Indomitable Lions, participated in 4 African Cup of Nations winning in 1984 and 1988, 3 World Cups, and 4 goals in 5 matches and took Cameroon to the quarterfinal in Italia 90.

Voted best African football player in 1976 and 1990, best African player of the last 50 years in 2007 by CAF, the old lion Roger Milla is now a roving ambassador and minister for football.

By Rita Akana

The secretary general has confirmed in a letter addressed to his boss that he is leaving his post

The Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) has suffered a huge blow after secretary-general Benjamin Didier Banlock resigned from his post on Wednesday.

In a correspondence sent to his boss, Samuel Eto’o, on Wednesday, Banlock announced he was leaving his post because “Cameroonian football is not on the right direction and refused among other things to be reduced to the “dancer of the President.”

“I have reasons to believe Cameroonian football will only regain its greatness if great me, who carry great ideas, act with greatness in an environment that allows for elevation and progress, in other words, the achievement of great designs,” Banlock explained in his letter seen by GOAL.

“For my part and very humbly, an administration of progress at Fecafoot cannot be reduced to the “president’s dancer “which seems to be your only will,” Banlock continued in his message directed at Eto’o.

“The texts, the good managerial and governance practices, the objectives of federal projects and the results must motivate the decisions, justify the postures, the choices and the commitments.

“Thanks to the Executive Committee of Fecafoot for the trust placed in me but regrets for not being able to work in an environment conducive to achieving performance.”

On December 11, 2021, Eto’o, who played for a host of clubs across Europe, most notably Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, was elected as president of the Cameroon federation.

Almost two weeks after Eto’o took charge of the federation, the former Cameroon captain chaired an emergency committee meeting on Monday, December 27, 2021, via a video conference and he re-appointed Banlock to the post after resolutions were passed.

He came in as an interim in the new Eto’o era having served in the same position in the previous Federation which was under Njoya. Banlock was first confirmed as the federation’s secretary on January 2, 2019, before he was fired by Njoya, on August 2021.

Eto’o was in charge during the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations which the country hosted. However, the Indomitable Lions could not make it to the final as they suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat in the semi-finals against Egypt.

Source: Goal.com

Cameroon’s recruitment drive ahead of the World Cup continued on Monday with FIFA approving the change in international eligibility of former France Under-21 winger Georges-Kévin Nkoudou.

Nkoudou, who was with Marseille and Tottenham before joining current club Beşiktaş, never played for the French senior national team and could make the change to Cameroon under FIFA rules because of his family ties.

The application to FIFA was made by the Cameroonian Football Association, which is led by national team great Samuel Eto’o.

The 27-year-old Nkoudou was named last week in coach Rigobert Song’s preliminary squad for 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifying games in June. The group also included former Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham.

FIFA confirmed Ntcham’s eligibility change from France only last week though he had been called up in March for World Cup qualifying playoffs against Algeria.

The Swansea player did not take part in the playoffs as Cameroon advanced on the away-goals rule by scoring in stoppage time at the end of extra time in the second leg.

Cameroon was drawn in a World Cup group with Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland. The tournament in Qatar starts on Nov. 21.

Source:  AP

Cameroon national football team head coach Rigobert Song has summoned a 25-man squad made up of local players for a training camp.

Song made the list public Tuesday night, which comprises players who are plying their trade in Division One Championship in the Central African nation.

“Song wants to give home-based players a chance. This is the first time in the history of Cameroonian football that local players have been called up for training by the head coach. It is expected that the best players will be selected for the preparations of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,” sports analyst James Mbaru said.

In late April, Song said he wanted better collaboration between local professional clubs, coaches and players in a bid to build a strong national team.

The training camp will run from May 23 to 27.

Source: Xinhuanet

Samuel Eto’o has suggested how Cameroon can do wonders at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar if they follow what Jose Mourinho achieved with Inter Milan when winning the Champions League trophy in 2010.

The 41-year-old, who is currently the President of the Cameroonian Football Federation, was part of the Inter squad under the Portuguese tactician that won the treble in the 2009-10 season – the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia, and their first Champions League title in 45 years.

With Cameroon heading to the World Cup in Qatar where they have been drawn in Group G alongside Serbia and Switzerland, the former Barcelona and Chelsea player believes they can leave a mark at the tournament.

Asked if coach Rigobert Song can lead Cameroon to World Cup glory, Eto’o, who is currently in Italy to announce a charity game in San Siro on May 23, said as quoted by BeSoccer: “I don’t see why he can’t win it.

“I believe that in order to win the World Cup you don’t need to be monsters or aliens, you need good preparation, a strong mentality, and a pinch of madness.

“I won a bit in my career and to do it I gave everything. I always take Inter as an example: no one at the beginning of the 2009-10 season thought we could win [the Champions League] and instead, Mourinho did something crazy, with a group of men and warriors.

“I would like something like that for Cameroon too.”

Cameroon have appeared in the finals of the World Cup on eight occasions, the first being in 1982 where they drew all three group games. In 1990, Cameroon reached the quarter-finals before being defeated 3-2 by England.

The Indomitable Lions will make their eighth appearance at the finals in Qatar 2022.

Source: Goal.com

Four players from the Cameroon handball team disappeared in Spain. They are staying in Spain for the World Handball Championship. According to the delegation of the African country, the handball players have not appeared since Thursday.

The Spanish police launched an investigation into the disappearance of the four-man. “It appears that the women left of their own volition,” a spokeswoman said. The players took all their belongings with them from the players’ hotel in Valencia.

In the past, athletes often used international sporting events as an escape from the poor conditions in their home countries. For example, during the 2012 London Olympics, seven athletes from Cameroon suddenly disappeared.

Cameroon lost all their matches in the group stage of the World Cup.

Source: Commentary box news

Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) President Samuel Eto’o said on Monday that Cameroon is appalled by allegations of match-fixing by Algerian football authorities.

Algerian football coach Djamel Belmadi had told Algerian TV that Cameroon’s 2022 World Cup playoff win over Algeria “was a conspiracy between two or three persons”.

Belmadi argued that Algeria’s home defeat this March in Blida was distorted by the referee’s performance.

“FECAFOOT disputes these defamatory allegations instilled in an allusive way and formulated in a repetitive way by the Algerian football leaders. Cameroon reserves the right to bring the matter before the FIFA Ethics Committee in the coming days,” Eto’o said in a statement on Monday night.

“FECAFOOT urges Algerian football leaders to use legal means to exercise their recognized rights,” he added.

Source: Xinhaunet

Two months after the closing ceremony of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations Football played in Cameroon, the buses purchased for the transport of the National teams and delegations that took part in AFCON 2021 remain untraceable according to the Cameroonian daily L’Anecdote.

Of the 90 buses put into circulation for the occasion, only that of the Indomitable Lions remains which the team is using for their home games is identified.

This won’t be the first bad report coming from Cameroon after hosting the 2021 AFCON which saw Senegal winning their first AFCON trophy beating Egypt in the finals.

Reports earlier claimed the Cameroon government is yet to pay some workers of the 2021 AFCON before the mysterious disappearance of 89 buses used for the tournament.

One would have thought that each delegation returned to its country with the bus made available to them.

Source: The World News

Cameroon legend Samuel Eto has rejected salary accorded to him as President of Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) and instead increased remuneration package for the players.

Samuel Eto’o Fils is a former Cameroon football player who currently presides over the Cameroonian Football Federation having taken over from 11 December 2021

Four-time African Footballer of the Year who lifted the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and Inter Milan was elected President FECAFOOT after garnering 43 votes, ahead of the incumbent president Seidou Mbombo Njoya who received 31 votes.

“We have to bring footballers to the centre of our policies, ” he said afterwards. “It is our role to ensure that those who play this discipline makes a decent living out of it”

According to a report from Africa Awake,the legend promised not to receive salaries as President rather he decided to invest towards players’ wellbeing.

As part of his policies to ensure players earn the right amount for the work,Eto has advocated for high wages for players in Cameroon including the country’s women football league.

He further warned club presidents to pay salaries of local football players promptly, else he will pay them and deduct from clubs if there is any delays.

“The salaries of home-based players are already known. Any club president that does not pay players will no longer receive subsidies.

I’m giving the players the right to press charges against clubs that don’t pay them and FECAFOOT will pay them directly from the subsidies that the clubs in question had to benefit from.

I’ve come to put things in order. I don’t speak; I act. The money I invest in Cameroon football during my tenure must have a convincing outcome.”added former Chelsea striker.

Source: KBC