MINSEP-FECAFOOT feud: PM Dion Ngute plays the fire extinguisher.

He made the declaration at the Star Building in Yaounde yesterday. This was during a meeting with players of the men’s senior national football team, and the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

In an audience which lasted about one-hour, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute explained to Captain Vincent Aboubakar and team mates that he invited them to discuss on issues surrounding the team and their match against Namibia to be played on Saturday. 

He is said to have told the players that he was concerned about the wellbeing of the team and wanted to know if they have everything they need for a successful match against Namibia.

The meeting with the players came less than 24 hours after the Head of Government granted separate audiences to Lions head coach, Marc Brys and Sports minister, Prof Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

Speaking about the choice of the football facility to host Saturday’s match, which has been a major bone of contention, Dr Joseph Dion Ngute disclosed that the match is going to be played wherever CAF decides.

Going by the Prime Minister, Cameroon is dotted with several football infrastructure and where the country hosts its matches shouldn’t be a problem.

He tasked them to defend the team with rigour, regardless of where they play, stressing that they have to be valiant warriors and to keep the flag of the country flying as high as ever.

Dion Ngute reminded them that they are the flagbearers of Cameroon and that the entire country is looking up to them for victory, come Saturday. 

End of strife?

Yesterday's meeting with the Prime Minister took place within the backdrop of an ongoing intestinal battle between FECAFOOT and the sport ministry, over the choice of stadium to host Saturday’s match.

Both parties have been at loggerheads for several months now. The rift has deepened ahead of the international break, which marks the beginning of the 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign. 

FECAFOOT and the sports ministry have been unable to agree on where the match against Namibia should be played or where the team should be lodged ahead of the fixture.

While FECAFOOT has settled for the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua, in the North Region, the sports ministry insisted that the encounter must be staged at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde. 

It is unclear if the intervention of the Prime Minister will provide a long-lasting solution to the fracas between both institutions. 

Drama at Douala airport 

While the Prime Minister was holding the meeting with the players at the Star Building yesterday, FECAFOOT was already making plans to fly the U20 men’s national team to Garoua via the Douala International airport to represent Cameroon against Namibia on Saturday. 

FECAFOOT had given players of the senior national team currently in Yaounde an ultimatum to return to Douala, where they were expected to begin camping ahead of Saturday’s game. 

“It should be clearly understood that the 24 players duly summoned by the head coach are expected to arrive no later than 8:00am on September 4, 2024, at the Hôtel la Falaise Bonanjo in Douala,” reads part of the statement signed by FECAFOOT scribed on September 3.

The country’s football governing body added: “Failure to comply with this requirement, will result in FECAFOOT taking all its responsibilities without hesitation in accordance with the legal framework in force”. 

The U20 Lions who boarded the plane yesterday morning to Garoua, were ordered to make a U-turn. 

Coach Marc Brys who had a training session with the Lions in Yaounde, on Tuesday September 3, held another session yesterday.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3220 of Thursday, September 5, 2024