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Interpools : Need For Innovation (13.12.2004)
The 31st edition of the annual round robin tournament, dubbed Interpools, ended last week in Yaounde and Douala. From November 23 to December 9, 2004, ten football teams (provincial champions) were on the pitch to seek a position in the prestigious Division I championship. After five playing days, Astres FC of Douala and Sahel FC of Maroua grabbed the two available Division I tickets in Pool A based in Yaounde, while Aigle Royal of Menoua and Foudre Sportive of Akonolinga qualified for the elite championship in Pool B based in Douala. The four teams will replace Renaissance of Ngoumou, Cintra of Yaounde, Victoria United and Botafogo, relegated into Division II after their poor showing in the Division I championship this season.
Generally, the competition went on well. In Douala, it was a popular feast as supporters jammed the stadium to cheer their teams. On the contrary, turn out in Yaounde was timid at the start. It became encouraging only towards the end. The fact that qualification into Division I was still at the reach of all the teams until the last playing day made the competition very open and interesting. In effect, prior to the fifth playing day, it was not certain which teams would qualify for Division I. The problem of match fixing, common during previous competitions, could not be possible. This notwithstanding, voices were raised here and there to cry foul at the mediocre quality of refereeing during some encounters. At the end of the day, however, the teams which qualified for the elite championship, were considered by some people, as the best choices.
Aigle and Foudre, for example, are not new faces in the elite championship in Cameroon. Foudre is making a come back
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into the First Division after 20 years. The team was very popular in the 70s. It moved into the first division for the first time in 1973. Since then, the "Kanga boys", as they are fondly called, have been in and out of the first Division tournament twice. Aigle Royal has also made several trips between the DI and DII. The club, created in 1932, is leaping into First Division after three consecutive unsuccessful attempts. On the other hand, it will be an entirely new experience for Astres FC and Sahel FC. Astre is joining the circle of "big boys" just two years after its creation. Sahel FC, although an Interpool regular, (was at the round robin tournament in 2001, 2002 and 2003), is also climbing for the first time. Their success story is a dream-come-true for the population of the Far North Province who, after some ten years in oblivion, can now boast of a Division I team.
The success of the present edition notwithstanding, some football critics think it is time to revise the present format of qualifying teams into the elite championship. The reason given is that it is not very competitive and gives room for a lot of manipulations which could be minimised if the competition evolved over a longer period of time. Many are teams who bought their ways into the Division I championship and dropped after one season as they could not meet up with the level of competition. Protagonists of a change say; going back to a Division II national or regional championship, like what existed in the country between 1960 and 1973, will be the best bet. A lot of reforms are presently underway at the Cameroon Football federation. It will not be a waste of time for the football managers to rethink the present format.
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