Tche Irene Morikang
27 March 2008
Here we are at it again. We are at the eve of another important rendez-vous - the eliminatories of the 2010 World Cup.
It will be the first global football jamboree that would be organised on African soil. It is the dream of each of the 52 countries affiliated to the Confederation of African Football, CAF, to be part of the football bonanza. Most national selections have already started fine-tuning their skills. And as has been the case within the last couple of years, Cameroon has already started losing the pace of the waltz. Disturbing. Really worrying!
During the last 48 hours, virtually all African teams have been in action. This was during FIFA's official period for international friendlies. Take a look at this list. African champs, Egypt took on Argentina, Ghana played Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire faced Tunisia, Morocco travelled to Belgium, Algeria challenged DR Congo, Tanzania and Mozambique locked horns, Uganda defied Libya, Sudan received Liberia, Botswana and Zimbabwe tested their skills, Namibia welcomed Malawi, Paraguay was in South Africa, Benin took on Eintracht Frankfurt, a local German selection... The inventory is long. Some countries that could not play friendly matches were in training camps. And where was Cameroon in all this? Well, the Lions were absent. Deplorable!
The move by Otto Pfister to organise a friendly was futile. Like in the past, the game of hide and seek has started with officials of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), those of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education (MINSEP) and the technical squad of the national football team shying away from their responsibilities. Too bad! Many people had imagined that the unexpected glories gathered at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana by the surprise performance of the Indomitable Lions, even after a clumsy preparation for the tournament, will bring sanity and unity in the ranks of the managers of the team. Far from it. Helas! The old demons that have been holding Cameroon's football back over the last six years have resurfaced again. MINSEP and FECAFOOT are back to their usual "ping-pong" game.
The apparent entente during the African Cup of Nations was but a silver lining that covered the usual dark clouds. A window dressing. Handshakes and smiles for the camera! We are back to the routine characterised by egoism, back-stabbing, lack of professionalism in organisation and inertia. For, what explanation can really be given to justify Cameroon's absence during this official international football week when teams met to test their skills and prepare themselves for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers?
Yes, 2010 might be two years away. But 24 months is just around the corner especially as teams will start seeking their qualification for the tournament by the end of May 2008; that is two months away! Yet, very little is certain in the camp of the Lions. It is still not sure if Otto Pfister will take the team through the qualifiers and to the Angola Africa Cup of Nations and South Africa World Cup. Maybe if Pfister were a unanimous choice, FECAFOOT will not have been wasting time and resources to create a commission to seek ways and means through which Cameroon can better tackle the 2010 challenges. It is with much anxiety that Cameroonians are waiting for the results of this commission, which they hope will reflect the ingenuity of its President, Roving Ambassador Roger Milla. In the same light, the public is still expecting MINSEP to hold its much publicised national forum on Cameroon football which was expected to take place before the end of last year.
The bitter experience of the last World Cup qualifiers is fresh in the minds of Cameroonians. The Lions couldn't make it to Germany as they failed to take their qualifiers serious from the start. And since the same causes produce the same effects...Well, Cameroonians do hope that, this time around, things will change for the better. One would expect that they must change!
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