A look back at major 2022 sport events in Cameroon

By Stephen Tadaha

AFCON 2021, HOSTED BY CAMEROON

We begin with the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was hosted by Cameroon and took place from 9 January to 6 February 2022.

The tournament was marked as a success in Cameroon and described by CAF as the best ever on African soil. A total of 52 matches were played with 100 goals scored making it an average of 1.92 goals per match. The tournament was won by Senegal with the indomitable Lions’ Captain, Vincent Aboubakar emerging as the top scorer with 8 goals, the best player trophy was won by Sadio Mane of Senegal while Édouard Mendy still of Senegal was crowned best goalkeeper. The indomitable Lions finished third after a dramatic comeback against Burkina Faso and winning the game on penalty shootouts. The competition was played in 6 stadia across the cities of Bafoussam, Yaoundé and Douala, Garoua, and Limbe.

QATAR, FIFA WORLD CUP, AND INDOMITABLE LIONS’ ADVENTURE PUT MIXED FEELINGS AMONG CAMEROONIANS.

The Senior Team of Cameroon also performed to the mixed expectations of Cameroonians before and during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The team in the playoffs of the qualifiers against Algeria broke the records at Blida. They put an end to Algeria’s 25-year unbeaten run at Blida as they inflicted a 1-2 defeat on March 29, 2022.

The score directly took the Indomitable Lions to their 8th World Cup participation in Qatar on an aggregate 2-2 score.

In Qatar, the indomitable Lions of Cameroon were lodged in group G alongside Heavyweight Brazil, Switzerland, and Serbia.

The team succeeded to grab 4 points in 3 outings and the most awaited one being their victory against Brazil 1-0 at the Lusail Stadium on December 2nd putting them in the 3rd spot of the group and failing to qualify on a worse goal difference than Switzerland.

The team’s performance at the 2022 World Cup ended their 20-year run with a point in a world cup knowing that the last time the indomitable Lions had grabbed a point in a World Cup was in 2002.

A performance in which fans expressed mixed feelings on, saying the Lions underperformed, looking at the potential they had. Meantime others qualified it as heroic.

Their World Cup adventure was marked by the premature exit of Cameroon’s main keeper André Onana due to misunderstandings with the technical bench and the discovery of a second keeper Epassy.

LOCAL FOOTBALL REGAINED ITS TASTE

MTN Elite One championship:

Local football regained its taste in 2022 as Samuel Eto’o successfully organized the first championship under his reign despite the judicial and administrative conflicts that existed. Because of the abovementioned challenges and pressure to meet up CAF’s calendar, the championship was organized in just over a 3-month period to designate Cameroon’s continental representatives. The 25-team championship was played in 2 groups of 12 and 13 teams and ran from March 16, 2022, to July 3, 2022. Coton Sports of Garoua emerged champions for the 17th time and qualified for the CAF TotalEnergies Champions League.

A CLASSIC RIVALRY WAS BORN, CHAMPIONS TROPHY APPEARED.

A classic rivalry between Bamboutos FC of Mbouda and Coton Sports of Garoua was at the center stage.

Bamboutos had been with a major trophy for over 56 years of existence and qualified for the 2022 Cameroon Cup final against the country’s best Coton. The match had all its stakes as the Mangwa Boys, motivated by its fans and sympathizers needed just that trophy. The two teams met at the Yaoundé Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium on Sunday, October 2nd and Coton won for the seventh time the Cameroon cup.

The match did not only give a 7th Cameroon Cup title to Coton but also put to 8, their number of victories against Bamboutos.

The rivalry continued some weeks after as the two met again at the Bafoussam Omnisports Stadium on Saturday, October 21st, for the Champions Trophy, the first ever in Cameroon.

The Mangwa Boys took their revenge by beating Coton Sports 1-0 to claim their first-ever major trophy 🏆 in 56 years of existence.

ACTORS ARE COMPENSATED THROUGH THE BALLON D’OR AWARD CEREMONY.

To beautifully end the football season, the 2022 Cameroonian Ballon D’or Awards took place on Saturday, October 29, just a week after the Champions Trophy, at the Yaoundé Congress Hall.

The awards compensated players and coaches who distinguished themselves during the last football season in the MTN Elite Championship and the Guinness superleague.

The Winners per Category were as follows :

Men’s Best Player

Marou Souaibou of Coton Sports of Garoua.

Women’s Best Player

Monique Ngo Ngock of Eclair Ladies of Sa’a

Mbappe Lepe Special Prize 🏆 compensating the best elite 2 players.

Kalgon Kada of Gazelle of Garoua

Men’s Best Goalkeeper

Anye Derick Fru of Cotonsport of Garoua

Women’s Best Goalkeeper

Annette Ngo Ndom of Amazones FAP

Men’s Young player

Patient Wassou of Cotonsport of Garoua

Women’s Young player

Lamine Mana As Awa FC of Yaoundé

Best Elite One Coach

Gabriel Haman of Coton Sports of Garoua

Best Guinness Superleague Coach

Joséphine Mike Ndoumou of Amzones FAP

Best referee

Dimoya Florent

Best Club President

Fernand Sadou, President of Coton Sports of Garoua

Special prizes were also awarded to some major actors of last season’s football season.

The Head of state, President Paul Biya was awarded the special support prize for the development of Football.

Canon of Yaoundé was awarded the special prize for professionalism

ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL QUARRELS MUTED.

Another major point in 2022 was the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) that confirmed the ratification of the agreement between the actual and the 2009 FECAFOOT general assembly members. This was a major step to resolve the longtime administrative and judicial disputes at the helm of FECAFOOT which affected performances on the field.

Cases 8338 and 8456 were CONSEQUENTLY wiped out of CAS’s files meaning Samuel Eto’o’s mandate is legitimate.

ONE ALL SPORTS CAME IN.

History was also made as FECAFOOT penned one of its best deals ever with One All Sports!

One All Sports took over Coq Sportif as Cameroon’s Football National team Kit supplier.

The lucrative 3-year deal was signed on Friday, August 12, 2022, between FECAFOOT and One All Sports and, will see the company pay FECAFOOT a huge sum of money yearly as part of the deal. The deal also will see One All Sports provide Cameroon’s National Team with a brand new VIP bus.

This Kit supplier company did equip the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

HANDBALL

Senior Women’s Africa Nations Championship.

The indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon once more lost to Angola at the final of the 25th edition of the Senior Women’s Africa Nations Championship that took place in Dakar, Senegal.

The girls of Christian Serge Guebogo in their fifth-ever final and third against Angola bowed to 15-time African Champions 19-29.

The Team however bagged home € 15 000 (FCFA 9. 8 million) meanwhile Angola took home €25 000 ( over FCFA 16 million).

The girls have also qualified for the 2023 IHF World Women’s Handball Championship which will be jointly hosted by Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball Lionesses prematurely went out of the World Volleyball Championship that took place in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and Poland 🇵🇱.

They again lost all five games in their group Belgium in their group and finished at the bottom.

CYCLING

Taillandier Axel emerged winner of the 2022 Chantal Biya International Cycling tour.

The French cyclist won the tour with an overall time of 14h24’37”.

Clovis Kamzong Abossolo on his part was the best Cameroonian cyclist and was ranked 3rd on the general classification table with an overall time of 14h26’04”.