CAMEROON are racing against time to have their house in order ahead of the upcoming 2025 Afcon Qualifiers against Namibia and Zimbabwe with their training camp hit by chaos.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon will host Namibia on Saturday in their opener for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
They will face Zimbabwe three days later.
However, 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.
As a result, Cameroon have placed their Under-20 side to train on standby while waiting for the senior players to report for camp.
The Under-20 team has been training for a few weeks at the CAF Centre of Excellence in Mbankomo, and arrived at the La Falaise hotel in Douala, the initial location chosen by Fecafoot for the gathering of the Indomitable Lions.
The country’s Federation led by legend Samuel Eto’ released a statement confirming the developments in the Cameroon camp.
“People with malicious intentions have taken advantage of the resources of the State to put on a disgraceful show for the whole world, tarnishing the image of our country and exposing the players to the sanctions provided for in the Players’ Statutes and Transfer Regulations,” the statement reads.
“The instigators of these punishable acts in the course of the two aforementioned matches will be held accountable and will sooner or later assume full responsibility for all the damage they have done to our country.”
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.
