President Paul Biya has encouraged and rewarded the U-17 Lions who lifted the Nations cup with a bonus of 7 million FCFA to each of the players.
Though the squad’s performance suffered from little publicity, Biya made up for this by receiving the players and officials at state house on Friday where he announced the cash reward and decorated them with third-class sports medals. The gendarmes in the competition proper, the players, earned one million francs each as victory and qualification for semi-finals bonuses.
After their reception at Unity palace, the players took an escorted ride down town, displaying the
trophy and medals. But unlike when the senior Lions take a trophy, the crowd that turned out to cheer and praise them was not very big and police who accompanied them in the ride had little work.
It was the first time Cameroon were taking the trophy and it was their third participation in the five edition old biennial event.
Jackson Eyinga Nna netted in the lone goal of the final against Sierra Leone six minutes into extra time in Mbabane Swaziland.
The cadet Lions will now go ahead to represent Africa alongside Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the Junior World Cup in Finland next August. Cameroon is scheduled to meet Portugal, Brazil and Yemen in group C.
