MTN Elite One, Two & Guinness Super League: SYNAFOC says players languishing in misery.

According to the union, majority of Elite One, Two and Guinness Super League clubs do not respect engagement taken with players.

The Secretary General of SYNAFOC, Daniel Blaise Ngos made the declaration during a press conference in Yaounde on Friday June 21.

The presser was aimed as presenting the payment of salaries, training and match bonuses for the month of May 2024 among others. 

“Our players are still languishing in great misery and if the absence of a consultation framework that SYNAFOC has been proposing for almost three years persists, the football activity will be in danger,” Daniel Ngos said.

The SYNAFOC scribe revealed that there was a drop in the payment of salaries of players for the past month as compared to April 2024.

Ngos stated that in Elite One, there was a drop in payment of salaries to 36% in May up from 41% in April.

He said: “This is explained by the fact that clubs consider that their employees-the players are only due salaries during the period of competition,”, further noting that since the 2023/2024 football season has been concluded, the teams no longer feel obliged to pay players.

Presenting the barometer of salary payment for clubs in Elite One, SYNAFOC said Apejes of Mfou, Avion Academy of Nkam have the worst record, with zero salary paid in eight months. 

On the other hand, Coton Sport of Garoua, Stade Renard of Bertoua and Canon of Yaounde have paid seven of the eight months since October 2023, when the 2023/2024 Elite One season started.

In Elite Two where the payment of salaries has been at its lowest, SYNAFOC stated that it dropped from 18% to 17% in the past month. 

Of the 16 clubs in the national second division championship, only two; Isle of Hope Football Academy, ISOHSA and Bafmeng United have been able to pay salaries for five and four months respectively in the last eight months. 

Five clubs including Dragon Yaounde, Djiko FC of Bandjoun, Tonnere Kalaras Club of Yaounde, Renaissance of Ngomou and Yaounde II FC have not paid salary for even a month.

For the payment of training bouses, SYNAFOC findings show an 100% record in the MTN Elite One, Two and Guinness Super League. It is not the same scenario for match bonuses where the payments vary.

Case of Armand Kooh evoked

SYNAFOC also went on to decry the fact that Astres of Douala forward, Jules Armand Kooh who was called up for Cameroon’s 2026 FIFA World Cup matches against Cape Verde and Angola earlier this month was wrongly accused for double identity by the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT.

He was later cleared of the accusation but the union of footballer regrets such a happening.

The SYNAFOC scribe said it was disheartening that think that the proposal they made for a commission to be set up to find a definite solution to issue of double identity wasn’t never taken into consideration by FECAFOOT.

At the end of the press conference, two players; Cedric Sighe of UMS Loum and Melanie Eboko of Authentic Ladies of Douala were awarded a pair of boots each. 

They were awarded for winning a quiz organised by monthly by SYNAFOC for players.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No: 3147 of Sunday June 23, 2024