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Japan Gives Cameroon Football a Lift (17.04.2007)
Football in Cameroon, despite the people`s love of the game, is sick, especially in terms of management and infrastructure. So much so that not even the intervention of world football`s governing body, FIFA, can produce fruitful solutions to some of the problems.
Ever since the government constructed a couple of stadiums prior to hosting the African Cup of Nations in 1972, which Cameroon lost to Congo, the issue of constructing more stadiums has remained almost out of the nation`s agenda. Besides, maintaining the existing ones remains a major problem.
A case in point is the main stadium in Yaounde. Despite being in the nation`s capital, the stadium -- named after former President Ahmadou Ahidjo -- had been abandoned to near collapse.
Some time ago, the stadium was even described as a death trap by sports lovers. Because of this neglect, Cameroon has suffered several sanctions -- suspensions by FIFA from international competitions. Situations like these have forced the government to carry out renovation works on the stadium.
But the renovations have never been completed satisfactorily. Many Cameroonians believe strongly that the government could have constructed more stadiums with the huge sum of money it has used for the renovations.
In a bid to save Cameroon further embarrassment, the Japanese government is currently financing renovation work at the stadium for 1.35 billion CFA francs. The work, which started a couple of months ago, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Upon completion, however, the stadium will still not meet international standards in several aspects, as the lighting system and the athletic track will not be updated. The stadium presently has a lighting system of 1,000 volts, far below the international
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standard of 1,500 volts; the athletic track has seven tracks instead of the eight demanded by international standards.
But the stadium will, for the first time, boast modern public toilets, a modern press cabin and mobile scoreboards and sound system. Other areas like the playground and presidential tribune also will be renovated, although initially the tribune was to be rebuilt completely.
"The stadium will be equipped with over 30 public toilets and pavements will be constructed from the entry into the stadium to the sitting spaces so as to control crowd movement during football encounters," said Ndinga Ndinga, sub-director of sports infrastructure for the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education.
Presently workers are busy working on the pitch and walls of the stadium.
But some Cameroonians are not happy with the Japanese assistance, saying that it only makes the Cameroonian government look irresponsible. They question what the government has been doing with the money gained from football events especially from Cameroon`s participation in past international competitions, to say nothing of local gate takings.
"I don`t think this sounds well for us as a football nation especially one that has produced the likes of Roger Milla and Eto`o," football fan John Mbanda said. He believes the government should have appealed for assistance to build a modern stadium rather than repairing an old dilapidated one.
"What about the Douala [province] reunification stadium? That of Bafoussam, Garoua, etc.," he questioned.
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=404497&no=356134&rel_no=1
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