THE NOSTALGIA OF CAMEROON FOOTBALL

 Who could ever imagine a Canon vs Tonnere fixture in an empty stadium?

By Arnaud Kouamo 

An empty Amadou Ahidjo stadium 

Gone are those glorious days in Cameroonian football when legendary clubs pulled huge crowds into the stadium. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, football was more of a religion in Cameroon with the faithful filling the temples that the stadiums had become. The Reunification stadium in Douala, the Amadou Ahidjo in Yaounde, the Roumde Adjia stadium in Garoua and the defunct municipal stadium in Bamenda amongst other stadia in the country. 

During this period, football clubs like Oryx FC of Douala, Caiman FC of Douala, Racing FC of Bafoussam, Aigle Royal FC of Menoua, Dynamo FC of Douala,Leopard FC of Douala, Tonnere Kalara Club of Yaounde, Aigle Royal FC of Nkongsamba, Canon FC of Yaounde, Union of Douala, Panthere of Nde, Unisport FC of Bafang, Bamboutos FC of Mbouda, Prisons Social Club of Buea, PWD Social FC of Bamenda amongst others provided a blissful show for the entertainment of the fans.

"When we had the following fixtures; Canon vs Tonnere, Canon vs Caiman, Canon vs Racing, Canon vs Oryx or Canon vs Leopard here at the Amadou Ahidjo stadium, there were heated debates a week to the encounter.Some fans will argue about the merits of their darling teams, to the point of trading blows. A day before the match, fans of both teams will spend the night in a move to prevent the opposition from bringing "juju" to the field. On the day of the game the players will be instructed by their medicine man or spiritual leader on how to behave before, during and after the game, some will tell them not to use the main entrance into the stadium.This, after some of the players must have spent the night in a graveyard just to win the match." A fan, aged about seventy, recounts.

The rivalry between the fans characterized by waving of flags, singing, drumming provided the publicity for the game. An empty stadium on match day, was unheard of. Football in Cameroon at the time was more about the love of the beautiful game, the passion and that special bond with the fans.

Players like George Weah, the only African to have won the ballon d'or, today president of Liberia gave more weight to Cameroonian football when he played for Tonnere Kalara club of Yaounde from 1987 to 1988.  With the growth of the game in the country, some renown professionals returned home to conclude their career. One of them is the celebrated forward Roger Milla after spending a great part of his career in france came back to Cameroon and played with Tonnere Kalara club of Yaounde.

During this period, Cameroonian clubs were doing great on the continental scene with Canon Sportif of Yaounde wining 3 CAF Champions League tournaments and 1 CAF Cup, Union of Douala - 1 CAF Champions, Oryx of Douala in 1964 won the inaugural cup of Africa champions clubs. For close to forty years now, no Cameroonian club has been able to win any CAF competition, and this, critics hold, is the result of the declining standards of football in the country.

"I can not imagine that Canon is playing against Tonnere here at the Amadou Ahidjo stadium and the stands are completely empty, Cameroonian football is finished." 

Paul Onana a football fan declared during the round of 32 Cup of Cameroon between Canon FC of and TKC, both of Yaounde. The football supporter who had witnessed the glorious days of Cameroonian football was embittered by what he saw. 

He quoted the recent playoffs in Garoua as symbolic of a new dawn and expressed optimism about football legend Samuel Eto'o Fils successfully raising Cameroon to a position of importance as concerns club football, restoring the fortifications and rebuilding the game from its foundations.


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