An impasse in Cameroon’s national men’s football team has been overcome following mediation efforts by the country’s Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, state media Crtv said on Wednesday.

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will host Namibia on Saturday in its opener of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier but their training camp has been marred by a wrangle between Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) and the country’s Ministry of Sports and Physical Education over the venue of the training camp and stadium where the match will take place.

“FECAFOOT wants the match to be played in the town of Garoua while the ministry wants the match to be played in the capital Yaounde. The players were divided and confused. Instead of training, they are attending crisis meetings,” said football analyst, Jean Claude Wakam.

Ngute met with the players and government officials on Wednesday and stated that the match “will be played wherever CAF (Confederation of African Football) decides and where the stadium is and in good shape”, Crtv reported.

The CPDM team has now agreed to play the game in Garoua after the mediation efforts.

Crisis erupted in Cameroon football since April after the country’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi announced the appointment of 61-year-old Marc Brys as head coach. FECAFOOT said it did not agree with the appointment because it “was not involved in the procedure leading to the appointment”.

Both bodies have since tussled over who is in charge of the Indomitable Lions.

Cameroon will play Namibia on Saturday and face Zimbabwe three days later in Kampala.

The country is placed in Group J of the qualifiers, along with Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

The 35th edition of AFCON will take place in Morocco next year.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon’s Minister of Football, Professor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, has landed in Garoua in Cameroon’s northern region where the country’s national team, the Indomitable Lions is expected to clash with the Brave Warriors of Namibia.

Mr. Mouelle Kombi, who is supposed to be the country’s Sports and Physical Education Minister, but has opted to focus on football, was on the same flight with the players and their coach. He has to be by the team to keep on manipulating the players. But his intrigues are known and the players are sick and tired of his stupidity.

Prof. Mouelle Kombi and Coach Marc Brys had vowed that they would not go to Garoua for the match, but they have been obliged by circumstances to eat their own words. It is FECAFOOT that manages football in Cameroon and not the ministry of sports.

The minister who has sown chaos in all other federations wants to take control of FECAFOOT because of the money in football. His plan will not work as he has met someone who knows his rights and wants to clean up FECAFOOT. Cameroonians are smart enough to see through Mouelle Kombi’s charade.

Kombi, whose presence in Garoua is not necessary, is there because he wants to ensure that the technical team he appointed gets access to the stadium. But his team will not sit at the coaching stand because the names of the members of that team are not on the match forms.

Kombi is already staring down the barrel of defeat. He will soon be kicked out of government and he will be remembered for the chaos he has sown in the ministry of sports.

Supposedly a practicing lawyer, Mouelle Kombi has, over the years morphed into a practicing liar just because he wants to feather his nest.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) is intensifying efforts to mobilize public support for the Indomitable Lions ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Namibia on September 7. The match, which will take place at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua, marks the beginning of the 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign. FECAFOOT has launched a social media campaign, urging Cameroonians to unite behind the national team.

On August 30, the federation posted a visual on its Facebook page highlighting the significance of the event with the slogan: “One date, one place, one stake.” This post is part of a broader strategy aimed at mobilizing the Cameroonian public and creating an electrifying atmosphere for the Indomitable Lions during the match.

The federation also released a 53-second video calling for a “sacred union” among the Cameroonian people to support the national team in Garoua. The video aims to spark enthusiasm and encourage widespread mobilization to back the players in their encounter with Namibia. Additionally, Fecafoot shared a visual in Fufulde, a language widely spoken in the northern part of the country, to directly engage local communities and strengthen the sense of unity and support around the team.

This media blitz comes amid confusion and disagreement over the choice of venue for the match. Fecafoot, under the leadership of Samuel Eto’o, chose the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua, citing more favorable weather conditions and support from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Namibian Football Association. However, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, suggested the match should be held in Yaoundé, the capital. “It has been decided that, in accordance with the high directives of the Presidency of the Republic regarding the proper organization of the match, the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé-Mfandena, which is in good functional condition, is, in the current context, the best suited to host this important event,” the minister stated in a communiqué issued on August 23, following a preparatory meeting for the match held at his ministry.

On August 30, Fecafoot revealed the list of 24 players called up by head coach Marc Brys for the matches against Namibia and Zimbabwe (on September 10). The press conference scheduled for this announcement was canceled due to the “unavailability” of the Belgian coach, according to the federation. The Indomitable Lions’ training camp was set to begin yesterday, September 2, 2024. Cameroon is in Group J, alongside Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon marked their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup debut with a spirited 2-2 draw against Mexico in their Group A opener in Colombia on Saturday thanks to a brace by Naomi Eto.

The Indomitable Lionesses, representing the hopes of a continent, found themselves on the back foot early when Paola Garcia headed Mexico into the lead after just three minutes at the Estadio Nemesio Camacho in Bogota.

Despite hitting the woodwork twice through Atcha Toko Njoya and Naomi Eto, Cameroon’s first-half woes deepened as Montserrat Saldivar doubled Mexico’s advantage before the break.

However, the second half saw a transformed Cameroonian side emerge. The catalyst for their comeback was the irrepressible Eto, who took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Her first goal, a display of composure and skill as she rounded the Mexican goalkeeper, ignited Cameroon’s resurgence.

With the clock ticking down and Cameroon hopes hanging in the balance, Eto rose highest in the 85th minute to power home a header.

The goal not only secured a precious point for the Indomitable Lionesses but also announced Eto as a new star of African football as she was named the Player of the Match.

This result marks a historic moment for Cameroon but also sends a strong message about the quality of the side in the competition.

The draw breaks Mexico’s streak of wins in opening matches, underlining the competitive nature of this Cameroonian side.

Looking ahead, Indomitable Lionesses will face hosts Colombia in their next group match.

Source: CAF.online

The Cameroon men’s national team head coach Marc Brys has alleged he has been subjected to “physical threats”, deprived of basic equipment and his players were sent threatening letters “designed to demoralise them” by the Cameroon Football Association (Fecafoot) during his first international window as head coach in June.

Brys, who was appointed head coach in May by the Cameroonian government, was part of a standoff with Fecafoot in May after they initially resisted his appointment. Fecafoot appeared to appoint an interim replacement after a clash between the head coach and president Samuel Eto’o.

A conciliatory press conference alongside Eto’o, where the Fecafoot president apologised, suggested the rift was healed however it now appears that significant tensions remain.

A letter, seen by The Athletic, was sent by Fecafoot to Brys on August 18, 2024, asking for the coach to explain himself within 72 hours following an interview Belgian news outlet Derniere Heure (DH).

In the interview, Brys made a series of allegations, including that his goalkeeper, Manchester United’s Andre Onana, had to warm up alone for the match against Angola on June 11 as his assistants were not accredited and, of Eto’o, that he “is very influential, but his only success is as a footballer. In other areas — coaching, business, and evidently, as a leader — he has failed.”

Eto’o, a former striker for FC Barcelona and Inter Milan, has been president of Fecafoot since December 2021 but has been the subject of multiple allegations. He was fined by the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) in July following an investigation into alleged violation of the principles of ethics and integrity. Eto’o was cleared of manipulating football matches.

In a letter dated August 21 2024, which The Athletic has also seen, Brys has responded to Fecafoot by detailing that he will not be a “yes yes” coach and went on to demand answers regarding a series of failings during his first weeks as the head coach, calling the period the “greatest frustrations of my coaching career”.

Brys expanded on his allegations in the interview with DH. Addressing the secretary general of Fecafoot, he wrote, with reference to Cameroon’s World Cup qualifiers against Angola and Cape Verde in June: “How can a coach be deprived of teaching materials (confiscation of jerseys, balls, bus) as part of the training sessions for an essential match to qualify relating to qualifying for the Canada-United States World Cup?

“How do you understand that people I don’t know, with whom I have never worked, find themselves in my dressing room on match day?

“On the eve of the match against Angola, how do you understand that threatening letters are sent to players with copies to their clubs, despite a crushing victory against Cape Verde? This was intended to demoralise them.

“How do you understand when we disembarked in Luanda (the capital city of Angola), I was the victim of verbal attacks from Mr Benoit Angbwa, physical aggression from Mr Thierry Ndoh and that subsequently, Dr Fotso tried to expel me from the national selection bus during our transfer to the hotel? How do you believe that Fecafoot refused to accredit my assistants, forcing the first-choice goalkeeper of the Indomitable Lions to warm up on his own? When we know that for specialists, this is a specific activity with a view to conditioning the national team’s last line of defence. This is unheard of in world football for a national team.”

Brys also claimed that he had seen no condemnation from Fecafoot regarding the personal “attacks” and that he had been the victim the insults of all kinds against me and family”. He then stated his wish to continue working with Fecafoot “only give us polite, courteous professional interlocutors and we will all work together to advance the national team”.

Tensions first emerged in May following Brys’s appointment as Cameroon head coach, which was made by the Cameroon ministry of sport to the “great astonishment” of Fecafoot.

Video footage emerged in May of Eto’o and Brys appearing to have a heated exchange, with Fecafoot then writing in a statement that the decision to replace Brys had been taken following an emergency meeting, convened by Eto’o due to the “inappropriate behaviour” of Brys and his assistants.

The federation announced that Martin Ndtoungou had taken over the Cameroon team on an interim basis and was to hold a press conference to reveal his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde and Angola.

But, following what it described as a “fruitful and convivial meeting”, Fecafoot clarified the status of the team in a further statement that week, outlining Brys was to remain as head coach, with Joachim Mununga as his assistant.

Eto’o then apologised to Brys in a press conference the pair held, stating that there were a “lot of emotions” in their previous “unfortunate” encounter.

Cameroon are due to face Namibia and Zimbabwe next month as part of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations, to be held in Morocco.

The Athletic has contacted Brys and Fecafoot for comment.

Source: The Athletic