Unity and hard work are the Africans’ greatest assets

“We’ve all become firm friends,” explained skipper Benjamin Moukandjo

The first thing that becomes obvious to anyone spending time with the Cameroon squad that has travelled to Russia to take part in the 2017 Confederations Cup is the strong friendship that appears to unite the reigning African champions.

“When it’s just us, we tell jokes and make fun of each other, but once we’re out on the training pitch, everything gets serious again – we know when we need to get down to work,” forward Benjamin Moukandjo explained in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com in the Moscow hotel where Les Lions Indomptables have decided to base themselves ahead of their opening match with Chile today.

Magic ingredient

“I’ve been coaching for 29 years and I’ve never had a squad like this before,” the man at the helm, Hugo Bross, said earlier this year at the 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, from which his charges emerged victorious. “I keep telling them every day that they have something they need to cherish – and that’s friendship. They’re genuine friends, and you don’t often get that in a football team.”

Moukandjo smiled, nodding in agreement at his coach’s assessment. “Over time, and especially during the Cup of Nations campaign, we all became firm friends,” said the Lorient attacker. “We headed off to the tournament as a team, but while we were there we became a family.”

Source: FIFA.com

The atmosphere was special in the den of the Indomitable Lions on Saturday June the 17^th 2017 in Moscow as the famous football technician of Russian nationality, Valeri Nepomniachi, visited the Cameroon team. Nepomniachi entered the history of Cameroonian football legends after leading the Indomitable Lions to the quarter-finals during the 1990 World Cup in Italy. It is until now, the highest ranking of the Lions in the FIFA World Cup tournament.

Roger Milla, Bonaventure Djonkep, Eugene Ekeke, Omam Biyick, Belll Joseph Antoine, Thomas Nkono, Ndip Akem Victor, Tataw Eta Stephen and other players who were in Italy’s 90 memorable expedition, are no longer with the Lions. But, 27 years later, it was with reverence that Valeri Nepomniachi was received in the team hotel of the indomitable Lions.

After a cordial exchange with the Cameroonian delegation, Valeri Nepomniachi before leaving, put a lot of pressure on the members of the current team. “I’m waiting for you here in 2018!! I mean here in Russia,” said the 74-year-old Russian technician.

Russia, which is hosting eight countries for the Confederations Cup from 17 June to 02 July 2017, is also the host country for the 2018 World Cup. Although Cameroon is still in the decisive phase of the playoffs, it is still racing for the Qualifications in the Africa area.  The indomitable Lions are focused on their first game of the 2017 Confederation Cup scheduled for today against Chile.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Cameroon Info.Net

Cameroon will be driven by the memory of Marc Vivien-Foe when they contest the Confederations Cup for the first time since the midfielder’s death. Foe died after collapsing on the pitch during the 2003 semi-final against Colombia in France. The 28-year-old was later found to have suffered from a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The Indomitable Lions will end their 14-year absence from the Confederations Cup when Fifa’s World Cup dress rehearsal kicks off this weekend. Cameroon open their Group B campaign against Copa America winners Chile on Sunday 18 June, in Moscow, before meeting Asian champions Australia four days later and then the world champions themselves, Germany, on 25 June.

Despite the passage of time, the memory of Foe – a Manchester City player at the time of his death – will be uppermost in their minds as the African champions take to the field in Russia. “We want to play well for him – to honour and respect what he did for Cameroon,” midfielder Arnaud Djoum told BBC Sport.

“We want to show a good image of Cameroon for him first. “In the dressing room, we try not to speak too much about it out of respect for him and his family. “It’s something we keep really quiet but we know from each other that we have to give everything and play from heart – like he did.”

Scotland-based Djoum, who won the Nations Cup just five months after making his Cameroon debut, may feel the connection more closely than others given that he wears number 17 on his Indomitable Lions jersey – just as Foe did many years before him. Marc-Vivien Foe died after collapsing on the pitch during the 2003 semi-final against Colombia

But instead of feeling any burden, the 28-year-old calls it “special” and “an honour” to wear the shirt – even though he says “it’s not an easy number to wear in this national team.” Memories of Foe aside, Cameroon may also be mindful that their last appearance on the global stage was little short of disastrous.

Ahead of the 2014 World Cup, a bonus row initially delayed the Cameroon squad’s flight to Brazil where the team promptly crashed out after just two games. Players clashed among themselves on the pitch during a 4-0 defeat by Croatia, which later became the subject of a match-fixing investigation – although nothing has ever been proven.

That World Cup came during a spell when Cameroon were in the relative doldrums – having failed to qualify for both the 2012 and 2013 Nations Cups – but their 2017 triumph in Gabon ended that lack of success in spectacular fashion.

Russia will be a true test of where this team are under Belgian coach Hugo Broos because African kings they may be, but how will they fare against the world’s finest?

“In the whole of the German team, they have great players – big, big players – so it will be interesting to see the level and compare if we are near this level or not,” said Djoum.

“Our team has a lot of confidence now, after the Nations Cup, and we want to prove that we deserved to win the trophy.”

Cameroon’s 2003 squad are the only African team to contest the Confederations Cup final, albeit losing to host nation France in a sombre affair in 2003, while South Africa reached the semi-finals when staging the World Cup warm-up event in 2009.

Can they perform similarly? “We want to show that the teams in Africa can do good things,” said Djoum, who has played for Scottish side Motherwell since 2015.

“Previously in this competition, African teams did well so we want to show that we can play against these kinds of countries – like Germany and Chile – so that we can show that we have a good team as well.”

“With our team now, with our confidence, everything is possible. We are not scared of anybody. We will try to do our best and go as far as possible.”

While the on-pitch clashes with the likes of Chile’s Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, Germany’s world-beaters and Australia will be challenging, so may the atmosphere off the pitch.

Plenty has been written about the racism in Russian football (despite the local authorities’ repeated denials), but Djoum – befitting his personality – is relaxed about the prospect.

“I think some of us have played before in Russia or a country like that. I’ve played in Poland,” he explains.

“I think everywhere is a bit racist – in every country you can find it – and in football, sometimes a few people try to use that against the player but you just have to try to put it away and be focussed on the pitch.

“Football is a game for everybody – it’s not about being racist.

“It doesn’t matter if you are white, grey or yellow, the most important thing is to just play football and enjoy.”

The Confederations Cup – which sees hosts Russia contest Group A alongside New Zealand, Mexico and Portugal – starts on 17 June with the final on 2 July.

Culled from the BBC

African champions Cameroon touched down in Moscow yesterday afternoon ahead of their third appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The Indomitable Lions will open their campaign against Chile in the Spartak Stadium in the Russian capital on Sunday before facing Australia in Saint Petersburg on 22 June and current world champions Germany in Sochi on 25 June.

Cameroon’s best FIFA Confederations Cup achievement to date was reaching the final of the 2003 edition.

Source: FIFA

Defender Yerry Mina scored twice to lead Colombia to a 4-0 win over 10-man Cameroon in an international friendly in Madrid on Tuesday. The loss for Cameroon comes five days before it plays its first match of the Confederations Cup in Moscow against Chile.

James Rodriguez, who is likely leaving Spanish champion Real Madrid this summer, scored Colombia’s opener at Alfonso Perez Coliseum. Rodriguez then set up Mina’s first goal by sending over a corner kick for the Palmeiras defender to head home near the half-hour mark.

Cameroon was reduced to 10 men when a Southern Cameroonian, Robert Tambe was sent off early in the second half, before Mina struck with a second header, this time from a corner taken by Giovanni Moreno. Jose Izquierdo finished off the victory with a late goal.

This was Colombia’s second friendly in Spain in a week. It drew 2-2 with Spain’s national side last Wednesday in Murcia. Colombia next faces World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela on Aug. 31 and Brazil on Sept. 5.

Culled from The State

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was on Tuesday accused of evading 14.7 million euros in tax through offshore companies, the latest footballer to fall foul of fiscal authorities in Spain.

The 32-year-old — the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes magazine — follows in the steps of FC Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year although the sums involved were allegedly smaller.

The issue of tax evasion has caused anger in a country only just emerging from a damaging economic crisis that has seen countless people lose their jobs and inequalities rise.

Ronaldo is accused of “four crimes against the public treasury between 2011-14 … which involves tax fraud of 14,768,897 euros ($16.5m, £12.9m)”, prosecutors said in a statement.

“The accused took advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities, which is a ‘voluntary’ and ‘conscious’ breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain,” they said.

Prosecutors accuse the Portugal international of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for its low corporate tax rate.

In addition, they say he only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned during that time was close to 43 million euros.

And finally, they accuse him of “voluntarily” refusing to include 28.4 million euros in income linked to the sale of his image rights for the 2015 to 2020 period to a Spanish company.

(Source: AFP)

The new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Football Academy was received on May 26, 2017 at the Cameroonian Golf Federation. With age telling on him, Issa Hayatou had a radiant face. Dressed in a blue boubou accompanied by a samara slipper, the new chairman of the board of the National Football Academy (ANAFOOT), arrived at the headquarters of the Cameroonian Golf Federation around 11:30 in a posh car and was welcomed by Yves Martin Assiga Ahanda, the boss of the Cameroon Golf Federation.

After a brief head-to-head meeting with his host, the former president of the Confederation of African Football was given a guided tour of the FECAGolf headquarters. A gesture appreciated by Issa Hayatou who did not fail to highlight it. “I am pleasantly surprised to see the seat of this federation. I was far from imagining that there are so many efforts around golf. This is an opportunity for me to congratulate the leaders of this sport something enviable not only in Cameroon but in the African continent, “said Issa Hayatou.

For his part, the president of the Cameroon Golf Federation said that “President Hayatou is one of the greatest African leaders of all time. He has just been honored by the President of the Republic who appointed him as ANAFOOT’s Board Chairman. It is therefore an honour to our federation to host such a great leader. It’s a way for us to look for experience, not just for football, but for sport in general.”

By Fru James with cables from CIN

Cameroonian Hassan Ndam is the new WBA middleweight world champion. The Cameroonian boxer defeated the Japanese Ryota Murata, in Tokyo (2 judges to 1), on Saturday May the 20^th in a hotly contested boxing encounter.

On the fourth round, Ndam held on to the WBA middleweight belt. The Cameroonian who became French, for sporting reasons, was several times shaken by the Japanese Murata.

Camcordnews Desk

Issa Hayatou has been named honorary vice president of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), at a general assembly meeting in Bahrain.

After suffering a humiliating defeat at the head of the African Confederation of Football (CAF) executive, by Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad, the Francophone Cameroonian has added another red feather in his cap.

Hayatou sat several times in the executive of FIFA. First,from 1990 to 2008. Then from October 2015 to February 2016, he held the interim chairmanship of the organization, following the suspension of Sepp Blatter. Aged 70, Hayatou seems determined not to retire.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Anthony Joshua emerged victorious from the biggest post-war boxing bout held on British soil by knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in front of a 90,000 crowd.

The two titans squared off at Wembley Stadium watched on by the cream of Hollywood’s A-list.

The British fighter was floored in the sixth round but fought back to drop the Ukrainian with dramatic late onslaught in the eleventh.

Klitschko returned to his feet for the third time in the bout but referee David Fields waved the fight off with the former champion unable to defend himself.