Except for the under 17, qualified for the AFCON in Algeria (April 29 to May 19, 2023), the various soccer teams of Cameroon have been piling up defeats lately. Explanations.
Cameroonian soccer continues to sink into mediocrity. Like the club Coton Sport of Garoua, eliminated from the CAF Champions League after six consecutive defeats. The national teams of Cameroon have also become the favorite doormat of the nations they face. Both at the continental and international level. The only survivor is the under-17 team, which has qualified for the CAN in Algeria (29 April to 19 May 2023).
Coaches without experience
Since the president of Fécafoot, Samuel Eto'o, made his first appointments to the technical staff in February 2022, the selections of Cameroon have indeed lost more games than they have won. One year after the arrival of Rigobert Song on the bench of the Indomitable Lions, the selection has played 12 official games, with a record of 3 wins, 5 losses and 4 draws. While some of the poor performances are a real stain (like the 2-1 defeat against Namibia on March 28), Cameroon also lost 9 places in the latest FIFA ranking.
In the lower ranks, the local Lions were knocked out in the first round of the 2023 African Nations Championship by Niger. The U20 and U23 Lion Cubs were unable to qualify for the AFCON in their respective categories. Basically, all these selections of Cameroon have something in common: they are coached by coaches without experience. The proof. Before arriving at the senior team, Song coached the Intermediate and U23 teams of Cameroon. Results: two eliminations in the first round of the Chan 2018 in Morocco and the U23 AFCON 2019 in Egypt.
Like him, the coach of the under 23 of Cameroon, Guy Feutchiné and his colleague of the under 20 Augustine Simo, have no reference in coaching. Well, apart from the fact that they made their class respectively on the benches of the Greek D2 club Irodotos (2018-2019) and that of Swiss D2 Etoile Carouge (2013-2017). If they fail to achieve the expected results, it must be said that the responsibilities are shared with the leaders of the Federation who refuse to see the truth in the face: the training in Cameroon is a failure.
Football development stalled?
In parallel to the senior selection of Cameroon, the young people do not scare anyone. This supposed new generation is already behind the main selections of its generation like Senegal and Morocco. This is not a good sign for the future. And this is not new. "For the past ten years, Cameroon has suffered from the absence of an effective national technical direction. We do not have a Cameroonian label in training," argues Emmanuel Mbangkollo, sports analyst. "It is necessary, he says, to put in place a strong Technical Directorate that will start again on the basics and will focus on the quality of training of educators upstream and players downstream. Because, when we have failed in training, we can not expect results.
We should take the problem at the base. "Our soccer at the base is the foundation. But it is poorly structured," he said. That's why we have mediocre players and very low level leagues". While many other countries have developed their soccer programs, investing in training, preparation and development of players. The increased competition makes it difficult for Cameroon's national teams to catch up. If not...
