Host Cameroon has issued COVID-19 guidelines for African Nations Championship (CHAN) that will kick off in the country in a week.

“In a bid to respect the COVID-19 protocol established by CAF and FIFA, CAF and Cameroon have agreed on the rate of occupation of stadiums during the competition as follows: 25 per cent for all group matches including the opening match and 50 per cent for all semi-finals and finals,” Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi said in a statement released Saturday, adding that a special mechanism to mark the seats in all stadiums will be set up following the authorized occupation capacity.

Wearing of face masks will mandatory in stadiums and social distance will be strictly applied, he said.

“The non-respect of the measures shall expose defaulters to the risk of expulsion from stadium,” Kombi said.

The CHAN will run from January 16 to February 7.

The competition, in its sixth edition, is open to players in local leagues and Cameroon will host the finals for the first time ever.

Source: Xinhuanet

The razzmatazz and hype that comes with hosting the 2020 African Nations Football Championship (CHAN) is evident in Cameroon 30 days before kick-off.

However the preparations for the team, known as the Intermediate Lions, which will represent the hosts at the 16-team event are not going as smoothly.

The continental tournament for players plying their trade in their domestic championships was due to take place in March but was delayed due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Cameroon’s government has invested heavily financially and with material resources to build new infrastructure including 50,000-seat stadium in Douala for the tournament.

The country’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute is very happy with what his country has to offer for the 16-nation event.

“The infrastructure we have here for the CHAN is comparable to what exists anywhere in the world and Cameroonians have to be proud,” Dion Ngute said.

“For the next 100 years, Cameroonians won’t be thinking about constructing stadiums because top quality infrastructure have been erected across the country”

He also admitted that there was need for some “minor adjustments” to be made in order to ensure January’s continental showdown will be a landmark success.

Dion Ngute also hinted that there could be a return of fans to the stands for what he hopes will be an “African football feast”.

The optimism of Cameroon’s officials is shared by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), who during its most recent executive committee meeting agreed that “Cameroon is ready to host the event”.

Caf highlighted that inspection visits to the three host cities Yaounde, Douala and Limbe had shown Cameroon’s drive to organize the event.

After a seven-month hiatus triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, sports activities in Cameroon resumed in October with several domestic championships now in full gear.

Cameroon’s local organizing committee are hopeful the country’s ability to tackling the coronavirus health crisis can convince Caf to let fans in the stands for the CHAN.

“We are currently negotiating with Caf to see if we can have a significant number of fans in the stadium for the event” the tournament manager Michel Dissake Mbarga told Cameroon’s national radio CRTV.

“The figures speak for themselves. The scrupulous respect for the anti-Covid measures coupled with appropriate medical follow-up has brought Covid-19 under control in Cameroon.

“We are training volunteers on how to manage crowds during CHAN and to ensure that the distancing measures are respected in the various stadia.”

Caf has said that it is “working on a scenario with 25% (of stadium capacity) of fans” and that it is “in contact with the authorities to check if it will be possible.”

Trouble in the Lion’s den

While Cameroon’s plans to host the 2020 CHAN have been impressive that has not been the case for the team that is preparing to represent the country on the pitch.

The Intermediate Lions, as the home side are known, will be competing in the championship for the fourth time with their best finish the quarter-finals in 2011 and 2016.

In October, Cameroon’s CHAN coach Yves Clement Arroga was sacked and replaced by Martin Ndtoungou Mpile, following two goalless friendlies against South Sudan.

Ndtoungou, 62, who steered the side to the quarterfinals in 2016 in Rwanda has been tasked with putting together “a conquering side” for Chan.

But the absence of a competitive local championship coupled with an exodus of players has left Ndtoungou angry about his side’s preparation for the tournament.

“We’re supposed to take the best players to the CHAN but where are we supposed to get them from when there’s no championship?” Ndtoungou asked.

“I’m not yet serene over the team’s current situation. We had elaborated a plan hoping that the league will kick off but we’ve had to change everything and it’s just an ugly situation.

“No one is happy with this situation. We’re just trying to limit the damage because right now we’re not where we want to be.”

Ndtoungou’s damning assessment of his team’s build up has seen him resorting to calling up experienced players without clubs.

Earlier this month he named a 28-man squad that included the likes of 34-year-old Patrick Mevoungou, who last played in Saudi Arabia’s second-tier, alongside veteran striker Yannick N’Djeng and 16-year-old Franck Ondoa Edima who both compete for fifth-tier clubs.

Cameroon has been without a championship since March as a fallout of a ferocious power tussle between the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) and the country’s professional football league (LFPC).

Two months ago 19 top and second flight Cameroonian clubs called for the dissolution of the LFPC, citing the poor organization and management of the leagues.

The decision was endorsed by Fecafoot who stripped the organisation of its rights to organize the country’s domestic leagues.

The LFPC, headed by Pierre Semengue, retaliated by taking a case to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sports.

Semengue, aged 85 and Cameroon’s first military general has vowed to regain the league’s control over domestic football, accusing Fecafoot’s decision makers of wanting to “destabilize Cameroon, a football loving nation”.

However, Fecafoot’s President Seidou Mbombo Njoya has said he is exasperated with the constant legal battles rocking the country’s football fraternity that has cost “a whopping $2 million” since 2013.

Mediation from Cameroon’s Sports Minister has failed to resolve the issues and the two sides are now gearing up for a fight in the courts.

Culled from The BBC

KV Oostende has terminated Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa’s contract with immediate effect after he organized a party during Belgium’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.

According to the club website: “During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the Ostend police were called up because of noise nuisance in the apartment building of Fabrice Ondoa in the Koningsstraat.

“It turned out to be a lockdown party in which ten people violated all corona measures.

“When the police arrived, they were also verbally harassed by the revelers and 11 police reports were drawn up.”

Ondoa though was unhappy by the way the club handled the situation and denied holding a party.

“I just heard the news this (Tuesday) afternoon in an e-mail almost at the same time as the press,” he posted on social media.

“They are taking such a serious decision without even bothering to hear me. I just got a letter from their lawyer. It’s scandalous!”

“If they had bothered to invite me to explain, they would have understood that I have done nothing wrong. I have not organized anything at all and it sure wasn’t a lockdown party.”

The club’s executive president Gauthier Ganaye said 24-year-old Ondoa’s behaviour was unacceptable.

“As a football club, we cannot tolerate such selfish and irresponsible behaviour,” he said.

“We are relieved that we have not had any Covid contamination so far and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way.

“That is why we always remind our players of their duties and they also assume their responsibility.

“KVO as a club is above the individual and given the seriousness of these facts, we therefore feel compelled to initiate the dismissal procedure against Fabrice Ondoa.”

Ondoa had been with Oostende since 2018 and had been second-choice keeper this season behind Guillaume Hubert.

Source: BBC

Racing de Murcia president Morris Pagniello has confirmed ongoing talks to bring former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o to the Spanish third division.

The Cameroon legend retired from football in September 2019, after spending a year at Qatar SC but he could make a surprise return to the pitch to help Antonio Pedreno’s side ahead of their Copa del Rey outing against Levante on December 16.

According to the club president, the deal is at a ’50-50’ level with support from their sponsors and a decision on the transfer would be made in the coming days.

“At this time of the morning I would say that the signing of Samuel Eto’o by our team is at 50-50,” Pagniello told Marca.

“Next week we will know if we can sign Eto’o. If not, we have a Plan B prepared.

“We have several investors in Mexico and the Emirates who can financially compensate the operation.

“If we sign him, it is the manager’s job to align him. But we are clear that the game against Levante is very important and that it is time for there to be exceptions.”

Racing de Murcia are the most successful club in the Spanish second division with eight Segunda Division titles.

Eto’o is historically the most decorated African Footballer of the Year recipient alongside Yaya Toure with four awards each.

Aside from his achievements on the international stage with Cameroon, the 39-year-old enjoyed a successful career in Europe at Barcelona and Inter Milan where he won four Champions League trophies in total, amongst other domestic honours.

Source: Sportingnews

Cameroonian Youssoufa Moukoko could become Bundesliga’s youngest-ever football player this weekend.

Borussia Dortmund’s wonderkid turns 16 today and is now old enough to be in the first-team set-up and could make his professional debut against Hertha Berlin.

Born in Yaounde, Cameroon, the teen has notched an eye-watering 141 goals in 88 games since his arrival in 2014.

Moukoko has been talked about as the ‘next big thing’ to emerge from Dortmund’s academy for several years now and is already an under twenty international football star.

Source: AFP

Former FC Barcelona and Cameroon midfielder, Alex Song, has joined Djiboutian side AS Arta Solar7 in a shock move on a permanent deal.

Since making his professional debut back in 2004 with Bastia in Ligue 1, Song seemed to be on the right path to success as his performances earned him a move to then Premier League champions Arsenal at sheer age of 17.

Seven years later, Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona came calling and eventually acquired his services for a reported £15 million fee after 215 appearances with the Gunners.

However, Song struggled to break into the starting lineup ahead of Sergio Busquets, and the Catalans decided to loan him to Premier League outfit West Ham for the 2014/15 season.

Song settled quickly into the Hammers’ first team and became one of the Londoners’ top players.

In 2016, he was able to finalize a permanent move to Rubin Kazan on a free transfer coming from Barcelona but only played 23 matches in two years, before signing for Swiss side Sion.

Alex Song has now completed a shock move to Djiboutian side AS Arta Solar7 on a reported two-year deal.

Arta finished fourth on the Djibouti Premier League table last season with 24 points, four behind champions Total FC just missing out on the continental football.

Source: Kingfut.com

Cameroon sacked head coach of their national football team Yves Clement Arroga on Wednesday, barely three months before the start of the African Nations Championship (CHAN).

The country’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi confirmed the decision in a communique issued after a meeting held in the capital, Yaounde.

Kombi said, the performances of the coach “did not meet expectations,” and added that he will be replaced by Martin Mpile Ndtoungou “as a precautionary measure.”

Arroga has faced growing criticism since the national team suffered a shocking defeat against a local first division club, and subsequent back-to-back draws against the visiting senior national team of South Sudan.

The CHAN is a competition open to players in local leagues. It will be the sixth edition and Cameroon will host the finals for the first time ever.

Source: Xinhuanet