Cameroon at CAF club competitions, much still lacking

Victoria United, Fovu Club, and Lekie FF, Cameroon’s representatives at this year’s CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup, and CAF Women’s Champions League UNIFFAC Zone qualifiers respectively, have all crashed out.

Limbe-based side Victoria United were eliminated by FC Samartex of Ghana, with a 2-0 win on aggregate after losing 1-0 in both legs of the first preliminary round. Fovu suffered a heavier defeat, 5-0 on aggregate.

The participation of the two teams was marred by license issues that were only raised minutes to the start of their encounters. The Cameroon clubs were penalized  by the exclusion of several players.

Fovu played with only 8 players in Monrovia, where they conceded a 4-0 defeat, while Victoria United saw their squad reduced to just 13 players. The club officials did not seem aware of the administrative problem evoked. The Cameroon Football Federation has been accused of failing to ensure a smooth participation for the clubs.

Lekie FF who had a better performance before their exit, travelled to DR Congo using a bus, a situation that shocked the public. The Guinness Super League Champions began with a 5-0 defeat over Athletico Femenino Malabo, and recorded draws against CSM Diables Noirs (0-0) and TP Mazembe (1-1), which was not enough to secure qualification to the group stage of the CAF Women’s Champions League.

In the same way that efforts need to be made to raise the performance of Cameroon clubs to a standard level, more is expected from the country’s football stakeholders who need to ensure that the necessary administrative procedures are completed for teams to be fully ready when such competitions are approaching.