Wednesday 16 March will mark the start of the Cameroonian first division championship, better known as Elite One. For this season, the competition will be played with 25 clubs that will be divided into two pools for a better speed. Thirteen clubs will compete in group A while group B will feature 12 teams. The new system put in place by the football federation has come under criticisms as they say the system is a more compact and tedious one.
The defending champion, Coton Sport of Garoua, will be placed in group B, as will the two finalists of the Cameroon Cup: PWD of Bamenda and Astres of Douala. As for group A, it includes clubs considered as mythical since it includes among others: Union of Douala, Canon of Yaounde, TKC of Yaounde and Racing of Bafoussam.
The composition of the pools
Pool A
APEJES of Mfou - AS Fortuna - Canon of Yaounde - TKC of Yaounde - Fauve Azur - Stade Renard of Mélong - New Stars of Douala - Union of Douala - Yong Sport of Bamenda - Colombe of Sangmélima - Djiko FC of Bandjoun - Panthère of Ndé - Racing of Bafoussam
Group B
Coton Sport de Garoua - Dragon Club de Yaoundé - Eding sport de la Lékié - YAFOOT - Renaissance de Ngoumou - UMS DE lOUM 6
Astres de Douala - Avion Academy - PWD de Bamenda - OFTA de Kribi - FOVU de Baham - Bamboutos FC de Mbouda.
The organizers of the competition now have several stadia at their disposal from Cameroon's Sports ministry plus a major sponsor MTN, all looks set for a more enterprising football season in Cameroon.
