Massive Leap for Africa As Hayatou, Blatter Inaugurate CAF Centre of Excellence

CAF president Issa Hayatou and FIFA president Sepp Blatter commissioned the first of three CAF Football Centres of Excellence in Cameroon which the African football head said represented a massive leap for the continent's soccer developmental strides.

"The whole of African can be proud of this centre and is a great leap for this continent. We have put the centre at the disposal of the five African representatives for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil," Hayatou after the symbolic cutting of the 'ribbons' with Blatter.

"I'm convinced this will go a long way to put African football on the world map," he said.

FIFA president Blatter added: "this CAF Centre of Excellence in Mbankomo will certainly help boost football development in Africa."

The official opening of the Center of Excellence Mbankomo took place 30kilometres outside Yaounde. Similar centres in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dakar, Senegal are scheduled in the coming months.

Built in the environs of lush vegetation on approximately 6 acres of the 23 given in concession by the Government of Cameroon to CAF, construction of the first phase of the Centre of Excellence Mbankomo was completed in 2009. It became operational in 2010 and has played host to CAF training and development workshops and seminars, served as a retreat for Cameroon's Indomitable Lions, training base for the Stallions of Burkina Faso ahead of CAN2012 and hosted a number of first division games of the Cameroon national championship.

Mbankomo has three football fields (two synthetic turf and natural grass), spaces for basketball, handball, volleyball, an Olympic swimming pool, a gymnasium equipped with fitness equipment at the cutting edge of technology, a conference room with 110 seats, four meeting rooms with quality sound equipment seating up-to 30 persons each for technical preparation of players, seminars and workshops, a restaurant with seating capacity of 104 seats, a terrace bar and luxurious rooms.

To ensure uninterrupted operations, Mbankomo has autonomous electric power, with three generators and a treatment plant with a storage capacity of 120,000 liters of water.