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Lions, The Match of All Hopes (07.10.2005)
The Head of State, Paul Biya, has promised special bonuses to the Indomitable Lions if they beat the Pharaohs of Egypt tomorrow.
Cameroon will take on Egypt tomorrow in a decisive Group 3 match in the 2006 World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualification series. This encounter will take place at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium, Yaounde, as from 4 :00pm. It will be played at the same time as the other Group 3 match between Sudan and Côte d’Ivoire in Omdurman, Sudan.
Tomorrow’s match is of utmost importance to the Lions. Cameroon (20 points), which is just one point ahead of runners up, Côte d’Ivoire (19 points), needs a victory on this 10th and last playing day of the eliminatories to be certain of a fifth consecutive World Cup ticket. Any thing less would be tantamount to doom. A draw for Cameroon and a victory for Côte d’Ivoire, for example, will open the gates of Germany to Côte d’Ivoire.
All hands are on deck to ensure a hitch-free encounter. Yesterday, the fifth and last general preparatory meeting took place at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education. It was an occasion to evaluate the state of preparedness of all those involved in the organisation process. Going by the different declarations, all is set for tomorrow’s encounter.
The Director of stadium, Bela Eves, said the venue of the event was ready. Water is flowing normally, while the lighting system is such that the match can go on well into the night. In the same light, the playground and dressing rooms are in good state. The Director of stadium also gave a report on the sales of tickets. Bela Yves said as of yesterday morning, 29,726 of the 38,720 available tickets have already been sold for some CFA 54,147,000 frs. The General Manager of FECAFOOT Patrick Precheur said that the CFA 1,000 frs tickets were already finished,
while the CFA 30,000 were sold discretionally. As of now, therefore, only tickets for CFA 1,000 and 5,000 are still on sale. Patrick Precheur used the occasion to dissipate doubts as to the circulation of some 692 fake tickets. He said the printer has accepted responsibility for the error.
The good news at yesterday’s meeting was the announcement, by Minister Mbarga Mboa that the national football team of Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions, had been nominated "goodwill ambassadors of sports for development and peace" by the United Nations. This title will be formally conferred to the national team in a ceremony next Monday. The Minister also announced that the Head of State, Paul Biya, has promised special bonuses to the Indomitable Lions if they beat the Pharaohs of Egypt tomorrow.
The main actors of tomorrow are also bracing up for the event. The referees and match commissioner are already in Yaounde. The Lions, who began camping last Sunday, will be in their sixth training session this morning. Captain Song and his mates are serene and say they are confident that they would have a good match. The Pharaohs, on their part, began fine-tuning their skills yesterday morning. The head of the Egyptian 37-man official delegation, said although the Pharaohs are already out of the race for the World Cup, the team is not in Cameroon for tourism.
Meanwhile, there has been an unprecedented mobilisation around the national football team. Tomorrow, all Cameroonians who would make it to the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium, are expected to be supporters of the Lions and not just simple spectators. With the exception of the Egyptian supporters, all those at the stadium are expected to be in the green outfits they received when they bought their tickets; a colour that matches with the dominant colour of the outfit of the Lions and symbolises hope.
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