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CEMAC Football Cup: Lions Set to Roar (02.03.2006)
The A’ National Football Team leaves the country today for Equatorial Guinea where they would take part in the 3rd CEMAC Cup.
The third edition of the CEMAC Football Cup will take place in Malabo and Bata, Equatorial Guinea, from 4th to 14th March, 2006. The A’ National Football team will be seeking a record third consecutive victory. The Lions, who won the first two editions, have been seriously training in Akono situated some 60 kilometres from Yaounde.
Yesterday, the morning training session was in full swing when we arrived at the Olympa Africa Centre located in the precincts of the renowned College Stoll Akono, Mefou and Akono Division of the Centre Province. The 22 players had been divided into two teams. During the one-hour training, Coach Jean Marie Djidjiwa and his assistant laid much emphasis on transforming corner kicks into goals.
After the training, the players retired to their dormitories. The period between the training and lunch was an occasion for some players to fine-tune their look. Ndzie Pius of Mount Cameroon, for example, was having a new hairdo. The midfielder had invited two girls to plait his hair in the "Backala" style.
The medical squad, headed by Dr Martin Abela Ondobo, took time to inspect the food that was being prepared. Rev. Roger Betia Eloundo, head of the Olympa Africa Centre, said the medical doctor of the team decides the menu of the day. "We prepare only what the doctor wants", he said. Yesterday, the team had mince meat, spaghetti and tomato source for lunch. The three female cooks had also started preparing chicken and ripe plantains for supper. The rest of the players and staff were having their bath.
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Although there exists bathrooms for the three dormitories were the players are lodged (eight per dormitory), most of the boys preferred to take their bath the village style; in open air. With water from a borehole and like little ducklings, the boys chatted and laughed as they cleaned themselves. The scene is reminiscence of what happens in many Cameroonian villages.
The excitement of the young players is understandable. This is the first time many of them are being called up to defend the national colours. "The force of the squad is that the players are committed and ready to show their worth", Kwekeu Eric of Union of Douala, one of the two players who took part in the last competition said. Mboule Moukoko of Fovu of Baham was also at the last CEMAC Cup.
In effect, all the players who would be defending Cameroon at the CEMAC Cup ply their talents for local football teams. They are in very high spirits and optimistic that they would make Cameroonians forget the recent debacle of the senior national team during the 25th African Cup of Nations. The little village of Akono has provided the team with an ideal resort for optimum concentration. With little distraction, the players have remained focused on one objective; bring home the CEMAC Cup. The environment is clean and constantly disinfected to keep away mosquitoes.
Today, the players and technical staff will communion with sports authorities at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education. The ceremony, which begins at 10H00, will be an occasion for Minister Philippe Mbarga Mboa to extend government’s encouragement to the entire squad that would be defending the colours of Cameroon in the Equatorial Guinea.
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