Cameroon national football team head coach Rigobert Song on Wednesday named his final 27-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff game against Algeria.

Vincent Aboubakar will captain the squad that also includes Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, Napoli midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

The list consists of three goalkeepers, but there is no place for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations-winning keeper Fabrice Ondoa.

Forwards Clinton N’Jie, Christian Bassogog and Jerome Onguene are also amongst players dropped by Song, who has included 16-year-old Patient Wassou Goue of local side Coton Sport.

Cameroon will host Algeria in Japoma Stadium on March 25 before traveling to Mustapha Tchaker Stadium for the return fixture on March 29.

Song replaced Antonio Conceicao at the helm of the national team last month after the country finished third at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.

Source: Xinhuanet

It was all happiness when PWD Bamenda won yesterday’s final to clench the trophy that has eluded it for 43 years.

The happiness following the victory did not leave many analysts indifferent. PWD Bamenda is a team in the newly minted country of Ambazonia and for more than five years, there have been bloody fighting and killings in the two English-speaking regions of the country which had declared their independence some five years ago.

The comedy was all the more comic when natives of the new country showed up with placards bearing the most irrational demands.

“We need a stadium in Bamenda,” some of the placards read. It was like a child demonstrating in front of a neighbor’s house for school fees when the child had clearly told the neighbor he had nothing in common with the neighbor.

Maybe the message was for Ambazonian leaders who all live abroad.  Bringing that message to Yaoundé is like addressing the wrong audience and PWD Bamenda supporters were clearly wearing Ambazonian colors as if they had a plan to provoke the Yaoundé government.

If the people of Bamenda really need a stadium, will it not be appropriate for them to send that message to Dr. Sako Ikome and the multitude of Ambazonian generals who are living out of their own country?

It is obvious that Yaoundé will just be smiling. The people of Bamenda who have seen the worst violence over the last five years are simply tired of the violence that has been brought to them by their own people.

They seem to have counted on a Washington-based government that simply includes the poorest and most crooked pastors God has ever put on the face of the earth.

The PWD victory and the messages taken to Yaoundé might just be heralding the end of a violent struggle which is currently struggling.

If the messages were actually intended for the Yaoundé government, then the people of Bamenda are clearly flogging a dead horse as the Biya government has not got any appetite to develop infrastructure in a part of the world where the people have a mercurial temperament and can ruin everything in a feat of anger.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Cameroon football season came to a close on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Sports stadium in Yaoundé in a ceremony chaired by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

The climax of the event was the final of the Cameroon Football Cup that pitted Astres FC of Douala (French Cameroun) against PWD of Bamenda from Southern Cameroons.

The two teams have never won a Cameroon Cup.  The “Brazilians of Bapanda” were playing their fourth final while the Abakwa Boys of Southern Cameroons were in their third attempt.

In a scantily attended final, the two teams gave everything to ward off the bad luck that had prevented them for several years from winning the coveted trophy.  At the final whistle of referee Elouga Bikim, PWD of Bamenda after failing in 1967 against Canon of Yaoundé, 1979 in front of Dynamo of Douala, emerged victorious beating Astres of Douala one goal to nil.

Hubert Mbunwe Che scored the goal from a dead ball in the 15th minute via a free kick on the edge of the area beating goalkeeper Jourdain Mbaynassem.

Speaking to state radio and television immediately after the game, the manager of Astres de Douala, Anicet Mbarga said “We had a penalty that could have allowed my team to get the game back on track. Unfortunately, the referee did not blow the whistle. However, I congratulate the opposing team who deserved their victory.”

For his part, David Pagou the coach of PWD Bamenda opined that “We gave our all to win this game! I dedicate our victory to the people of the North-West who are now living in difficult conditions.”

 By Rita Akana

PWD of Bamenda and Astres of Douala are now poised to move to Yaoundé to stage the finals of the Cup of Cameroon.

The 89-year-old French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya reportedly rubber-stamped the choice of the venue and the presiding CPDM official.

The finals will hold at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé, and will be presided over by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

After eight months of waiting, the Cameroon Cup finals will be played on Sunday, March 13, 2022 following a correspondence from the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh stated “I have the honor to inform you that the President of the Republic has given his high approval for the holding of the 2020-2021 edition of the final of the Cameroon Football Cup on Sunday, March 13, 2022 from 15H at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Sports Stadium in Yaoundé.”

By Rita Akana

Cameroon’s national team has a new coach. Rigobert Song has been appointed to lead the national as the new coach.

Despite disagreement between the FECAFOOT President and the Minister of Sports, an agreement has been reached and Song will be taking over from the former Portuguese coach António Conceição who has been thanked for his services to the national team.

The government is now focused on using its citizens in certain key positions. The era of European coaches appears to be over in Africa.

More details will be yours.

By Ewang Miriam Metchane

Anthony Elanga has impressed for Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United sop far this season, and the youngster could represent three different nations at international level with Cameroon keen on him

Manchester United’s young starlet Anthony Elanga has been approached to switch nationalities as his stock continues to rise at the Red Devils.

Elanga was born in Sweden to Cameroonian parents, but he moved to England at 12-years-old, making him eligible for all three.

However, the youngster has represented Sweden, the country of his birth, at youth level – and Sweden are confident he will represent them.

But after being called up by the first team, Elanga failed to make an appearance after Untied blocked the call-up.

And Cameroon are now attempting to swoop in to secure the services of the youngster.

According to Footazimuts, Cameroon are trying to tempt the youngster into representing the African side on the international stage.

Elanga’s father, Joseph Elanga, represented the Indomitable Lions between 1998 and 2002, earning himself 17 caps.

He was even part of Cameroon’s side for the 1998 World Cup which was held in France.

However, the report also claims that Elanga’s mother and agent aren’t sold on the side and the talks are ‘complicated’.

Source: Daily Star

The 27th edition of Mount Cameroon Race, Africa’s oldest international athletic competition, kicked off early Saturday in Buea, chief town of Southwest, one of the two English-speaking regions of the country torn by an armed conflict.

Close to 500 athletes from 11 African and European countries and regions are taking part in the race.

The race is taking place under tight security amidst threats from armed separatists to disrupt the event.

Since November 2017, government forces have been clashing with armed separatist forces who want the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest to secede from the largely French-speaking nation and form a new country they called “Ambazonia”.

Officials said in spite of the prevailing situation, the race must take place to strengthen Cameroon’s unity and integrity.

“This year’s edition is particularly good. The turnout is impressive which is clear proof of our determination to live together in peace and unity,” Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi told reporters at the start of the competition.

All security measures have been put in place for the successful unfolding of the race, the region’s governor Bernard Okalia Bilai said.

The race, dubbed Race of Hope, is of a particularly difficult terrain with athletes going up and down the mountain which is over 4,100 meters above sea level.

Source: Xinhuanet

Families of eight people who died in the January football stampede at Yaounde’s 60,000-seat Olembe stadium say they are burying their dead without assistance from Cameroon’s government or the Confederation of African Football. The stampede, which also injured 38, occurred ahead of an Africa Football Cup of Nations match between Cameroon and Comoros Island.

A Roman Catholic Church choral group sang on Friday at a viewing ceremony at Mbalmayo, a commercial town about 50 kilometers to the south of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Several hundred people, including teachers, students and merchants came to pay their last respects to Veronique Djilo, a teacher and one of those killed as crowds struggled to get into the stadium to watch the Cameroon national team play against Comoros Island on January 24.

Among the mourners was Etienne Modji, Djilo’s older brother. Modji said it was not easy for him to buy a casket and transport his sister’s body to Bandjoun, a western commercial town where Djilo was born. He said he has not been able to buy enough food for the hundreds of people coming to pay their last respect to Djilo.

Modji said he has not seen the money Cameroon state radio said Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions football team contributed for the injured and families of those killed in the Olembe stadium crush. Modji said his relatives and well-wishers donated money to help his family prepare for his sister’s burial.

Veronique Djilo was a person living with disabilities. She had no lower limbs and was teaching in Mbalmayo.

Emmanuelle Tchotchom, executive president of the nongovernmental organization Inclusive Society for Persons Living with Disabilities said at least 60 people with disabilities traveled to Mbalmayo, ready to accompany Djilo’s body to Bandjoun for burial. Tchotchom said the government did not transport neither Djilo’s body nor the people with disabilities accompanying the casket to Bandjoun, as her association had requested.

Tchotchom said only 12 of the 60 people who wanted to make the trip could afford the fares to and from Bandjoun, where Djilo was buried Saturday.

Three other crush victims have been buried in Yaoundé. Their families also say they did not receive any assistance from the government or the Confederation of African Football, CAF, which organized the tournament.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe visited injured victims at the hospital on January 25 and said it was the duty of host nations to take care of the security and safety of football players, fans and match officials. Motsepe said it is the host country that takes care of injured persons and families of the bereaved.

Cameroon’s team said it donated $85,000 to injured victims of the stampede and family members of those who died.

The injured victims and family members of the dead said they do not know where the money is.

Sports and Physical Education Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi would not comment this week when asked about the promised assistance to crush victims. He said, though, the injured were treated free of charge as instructed by Cameroonian President Paul Biya.

Cameroon Football Federation officials did not answer reporters’ questions on the whereabouts of the money the Indomitable Lions said they donated.

Source: VOA

The President of the Francophone dominated Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto’o travelled recently to Limbe in Southern Cameroons and staged the beautiful game’s support for the one and indivisible Cameroon policy. The Limbe meeting ended its deliberations with the appointment of new members in the executive committee of FECAFOOT. Not even a single English-speaking Cameroonian was appointed to the executive committee.

Federalists such as Barrister Agbor Balla and Dr Joachim Arrey of the Global Think Tank for Africa have already registered their utter disagreement and disappointment with the Eto’o decision. But the French Cameroun football legend is now focused on important Francophone FECAFOOT issues-the most urgent being who to replace the Portuguese António Conceição as head coach of the Indomitable Lions.

We gathered that the new FECAFOOT boss has already made public his intention of appointing Rigobert Song and the decision could be officially announced on Wednesday 23 February 2022. Will Rigobert Song Bahanag be the new coach of the Indomitable Lions?

There is one small thing. Small but great and it is the involvement of Sports Minister Hon. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.  Minister Narcisse extended the Portuguese António Conceição’s contract last September and on February 13, 2022 a week after the end of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Minister announced his intention to keep the Portuguese technician for the qualification to the FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Qatar in November and December.

Stupid Francophones

On February 14, Samuel Eto’o addressed a letter to the Minister of Sports. In the letter, the FECAFOOT President raised a finger against Minister Narcisse Kombi’s involvement in the affairs of the Cameroon Football Federation.  Samuel Eto’o reminded the minister that according to the texts in force, the administrative, sporting and technical management of all national soccer teams is the responsibility of the Cameroon Football Federation. Eto’o cautioned the Biya acolyte to desist from commenting publicly on maintenance or termination of the contract of the Indomitable Lions head coach.

Interestingly, there was a president at the head of the Cameroon Football Federation before Samuel Eto’o took office! So, how come that it was Minister Narcisse who awarded the Portuguese technician a contract in 2019 at the Yaoundé Hilton Hotel?

Supported in his approach by the executive committee of the federation, which met on February 16 in Limbe, in Southern Cameroons, Eto’o is now planning to appoint Rigobert Song as head coach with the immediate objective of qualifying the Indomitable Lions for the 2022 World Cup.

Eto’o and Song: strange bed fellows?

Rigobert Song Bahanag, now 45 years old, has written some of the most memorable pages in the history of Cameroonian soccer. To be sure, Rigobert Song is the record holder of 137 caps for the national team and has played in four World Cups and eight Africa Cup of Nations. Twice, he was part of the team that brought the cup back to Yaoundé (2000 and 2002).

Song also played for Salernitana (Italy), Liverpool, West Ham (England), Cologne (Germany), Galatasaray and Trabzonspor (Turkey). He ended his career in 2010.

He then became a coach and a member of the executive body within FECAFOOT. A stroke in 2016 forced him to take a break off football matters, but he was able to resume his activities two years later.

During the time when both men wore the colors of Cameroon, Rigobert Song and Samuel Eto’o sometimes had a tense relationship. The former lost his captaincy to the latter in 2009.

Since then, the two former internationals have buried the hatchet. Last August, Rigobert Song publicly supported Samuel Eto’o in his campaign to win the presidency of the Cameroon Football Federation.

Minister Narcisse is reportedly holding meetings in Yaoundé and CPDM commentators are already painting Eto’o as a destructive element.

For his part, Eto’o is fighting the leadership of CAF, FIFA and now- a baron of the CPDM crime syndicate.

By Isong Asu