Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
Says Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde is available for the match
The bitter conflict between the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education commonly known by the French acronym, MINSEP, and the Cameroon Football Federation also commonly known by the French acronym, FECAFOOT, that saw a resurgence on August 19, 2024, has continued to create a situation of uncertainty about the venue of the AFCON qualifier between Cameroon and Namibia expected to be hosted by Cameroon on September 7, 2024.
It would be recalled that in a correspondence addressed to the President of FECAFPOT on August 7, 2024, the Administrator of National Sports Facilities and Equipment Board commonly known by the French acronym, l’ONIES, Francois Felix Ewane, assured the football federation that the Japoma Sports Complex in the nation’s economic capital, Douala, will be available for the qualifier of the African Cup of Nations. AFCON, between Cameroon and Namibia on September 7, 2024 But in another correspondence addressed to the President of FECAFOOT on August 19, the Administrator of l’ONIES said the Japoma Stadium will not be in a good state to host the international march between Cameroon and Namibia, because of the poor climatic condition ( much rainfall).
The Administrator proposed that the venue of the September 7 match be moved to the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde. But in his reaction by a correspondence dated August 20 addressed to the Administrator of l’ONIES , the President of FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o Fils, expressed embarrassment at what the Administrator of l’ONIES said in contradiction to his August 7 correspondence. The FECAFOOT Boss said that it was too late to change the venue of the match, and insisted that the match would hold at the Japoma Stadium as earlier agreed. The FECAFOOT President raised doubt over the reasons that the Administrator of l’ONIES advanced, to try to justify the decision that the match be relocated to Yaounde.
MINSEP Announces That Match Will Hold In Yaounde
Meanwhile following the dispute that erupted between FECAFOOT and l’ONIES over the venue of the AFCON qualifier to be played on September 7, the Board Chair of l’ONIES , Bell Joseph Antoine, said the Board had decided to take the matter to hierarchy, that is, to the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof Narcisse Njoh Mouelle. The Sports and Physical Education Minister announced as was agreed at the first preparatory meeting for the AFCON qualifier between Cameroon and Namibia, which he chaired in Yaounde on Friday, August 23, that the encounter will hold in the nation’s capital, precisely at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, on September 7, 2024.
FECAFOOT Disagrees
The President of FECAFOOT that was invited to the preparatory meeting did not show up in person. Rather he designated a member of the executive committee of FECAFOOT, Prof Prosper Nkou Mvondo, to represent him. As regard the venue of the match, Nkou Mvondo said at the August 23 preparatory meeting that following the complaint by l’ONIES that the Japoma Stadium in Douala will not be in a good state to host the September 7 encounter between Cameroon and Namibia, FECAFOOT contacted the Confederation of African Football, CAF, to request for a change of the venue of the match. He said FECAFOOT and CAF held a video conference on the issue, and that after CAF examined a report of an inspection carried out at the Ahmadou Ahiidjo Stadium in Yaounde and the Rounde Adjia Stadium in Garoua, the Confederation validated the Garoua Stadium as the new venue of the September 7 match.
But the President of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Cameroon, Colonel Hamad Kalbaba Malboum, who was one of the personalities invited to the preparatory meeting, questioned the claim that the representative of the President of FECAFOOT made, about a technical inspection that was allegedly done at the Younade and Garoua Stadia. He dismissed the story as lies. He also ridiculed FECAFOOT by telling Nkou Mcondo that the Federation does not own a stadium. In anger, the representative of the President of FECAFOOT stormed out of the meeting, which however went on.
To Play The Match in Garoua Will Require More Funds
Meanwhile the objection of the Minister of Sports and Physical Education to FECAFOOT’s choice of Garoua to host the September 7 match, was that it would require additional funds for transportation (flight tickets) and so on, and that it would not be possible to get the additional d-funds, as the budget for the march has already been fixed. He asserted that the match in Yaounde will be less costly for the State. It should be noted that it is the State that pays for everything when the Indomitable Lions have to play a match. These include air tickets for professional players to come for the match, hotel bills, transportation, allowances, bonuses, and so on.
Correspondence To MINSEP Boss
Meanwhile on Monday, August 26, the standoff between MINSEP and FECAFOOT over the choice of stadium, continued. The President of FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o Fils, addressed a correspondence to the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, informing him that CAF in a correspondence addressed to FECAFOOT on Sunday, August 25, validated Rounde Adjia Sports Complex in Garaou, as the new venue of the AFCON qualifier between Cameroon and Namibia, to be hosted by Cameroon on September 7, 2024.
In a press release on that same August 26, the Secretary General of FECAFOOT, Djounang Blaise, informed the public that the Cameroon vrs Namibia match on September 7 which is an AFCON qualifier, will now take place at the Rounde Adjia Sports Complex in Garoua. He said CAF has validated the stadium as the venue of the encounter.
L’ONIES Reacts For Minister Of Sports
Meanwhile the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, did not formally react to the correspondence that was addressed to him by the President of FECAFOOT. Rather it was the Administrator of l’ONIES, Francois Felix Ewane, who later on that Monday, August 26, addressed a two page correspondence to the President of FECAFOOT, in which he said that the Rounde Adjia Stadim in Garoua will not be in a good state to host an international match on September 7, 2024, and so the sports complex will not be available for the AFCON qualifier between Cameroon and Namibia.
The l”ONIES Administrator recalled that it was decided at the first preparatory meeting for the Cameroon – Namibia match in Yaounde on Friday, August 23, that the match will hold at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde. He informed or assured the President of FECAFOOT that the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium will be in good shape to host the international match on September 7, and that l’ONIES will put the stadium at the disposal of the organisers of the AFCON qualifier.
As to why the Rounde Adjia Stadium in Garoua will not be available for the September 7 match, the Administrator of l’ONIES first recalled that the issue of the venue of the September 7 match was raised during the preparatory meeting of Friday, August 23 in Yaounde. He said they (l’ONIES) will not have enough time to put in place or to work on their protocol of preparation for international encounters, which requires at least one month. He said the protocol permits them to review things like infrastructures including the football pitch, and put everything in order or in the right state, before the day of the match. This meant that with AFCON qualifier scheduled to hold on September 7, the National Sports Facilities and Equipment Board, will thus not be able to put the Rounde Adjia Stadium in the right state to host the international encounter.
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