France Invitational Tournament: Mike Ndoumou’s U-23 Lionesses camp in Yaounde.

Lead trainer of the U-23 Lionesses of Cameroon, Mike Ndoumou is said to have summoned 25 home-based players competing in the Guinness Super League to begin camping for the competition.   

The team started training at the FECAFOOT Technical Centre in Odza on Wednesday March 29. 

The technical staff of the team engaged the players with light training activities. The group stepped up the preparations to full gear a day later on Thursday March 30 with several individual and joint sessions for both the goalkeepers and the other players. 

The U23 Lionesses are expected to round off training in the days ahead after which they will head to Rabat, Morocco. 

According to the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, the U-23 Lions will face Morocco in Rabat between April 3 and April 11.

The test matches are to better arm the U-23 Lionesses ahead of their appearance at the upcoming 2023 France women’s invitational tournament referred to as The Sud Ladies Cup. 

Cameroon will be participating in the The Sud Ladies Cup for the first time since the competition saw light of day in 2020.

This year’s event will witness the participation of France, Japan, Panama and Cameroon. The tournament will run from May 16-21, 2023.

The competition’s calendar reveals, Cameroon will face Japan in the opening game at the Parc Des Sports stadium in Avignon at 6pm on Tuesday May 16. 

The team will stage its second game on May 19 when they entertain France in a 9pm fixture still at the Parc Des Sports stadium. 

The U-23 Lionesses will round up their campaign two days later with a 2pm fixture against Panama still at the Parc Des Sports match venue. 

Coach Mike Ndoumou will use the France tournament to also begin preparing her team for the 2023 All African Games in Ghana. 

Ndoumou is also the head coach of the U20 Lionesses team, the outfit to represent Cameroon at the African Games next year. 

Players summoned to camp

The 25 players camping in Yaounde, include four goalkeepers, eight defenders, seven midfielders and six forwards.

This players are all competing in the women’s topflight in Cameroon.

Among the four goalkeepers summoned for the camp, Biya Cathy from Éclair Football Filles is the most experienced. 

The 16-year-old has one cap with the senior women’s national team. She bagged the feat after representing Cameroon against Portugal in February during the inter-continental qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

The defence, midfield and attacking compartments also have very good and experienced players some of whom have also played with other national football selections.