Cameroon, Sudan and Nigeria decide their champions

The more things change, the more they stay the same, at least as far as three African leagues are concerned. Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria all crowned their champions over the last few days and instead of surprises, there was a rubber-stamping of the status quo as Al-Hilal Omdurman, Coton Sport and Kano Pillars all became premiers again.

The Sudanese champions, Al-Hilal Omdurman, are their country's most successful team so another triumph has almost gone unnoticed. They have won the league 28 times in the 48 championships there have been since 1962 and nine times out of the last 12 competitions, which included a run of five in a row between 2003 and 2007.


As a result, Al-Hilal have earned the moniker Saeed Al Balad, which means Masters of the Country, which -- indisputably -- they are.


Al-Hilal Omdurman's 2014 started with five victories and has ended in a similar way. They won five matches before a season-ending draw with arch-rivals Al-Merreikh and barely faltered on their march to the title.


Al-Hilal Omdurman were defeated just twice in their league campaign, won 18 times and were held to six draws. With such a record of dominance, it is easy to wonder what another trophy means to them.


It's likely they will want to use the automatic qualification into next year's CAF Champions League to better effect than they did this year. Al-Hilal qualified for the group stage but finished in the bottom half of their mini-league, behind TP Mazembe and AS Vita and lost their coach Paulo Campos in the process.

Campos was fired after he reacted angrily by racing on to the field and advancing towards the match officials following the referee's decision to give TP Mazembe a penalty.


When they embark on that campaign, they will do so with a new left-back. Al-Hilal Omdurman have acquired the services of Ethiopian international Abebaw Butako, who was signed this week.


Butako joins a fairly strong contingent of players from around the continent at Al-Hilal, which is another indication of how African clubs can be lucrative for local players who may not get opportunities further abroad.


Cameroon's Coton Sport will also be aiming for a better showing in the continental competition after failing to make the group stage in 2014. They were beaten by eventual champion ES Setif in the second round and are still searching for a way to make another impact outside their own borders since reaching the final of the tournament in 2008.


At home, Coton Sport are the pace-setters. Their victory in the league was their fourth in five seasons and their 10th since 2001 and provide stability in a country known for frequent upheavals at international level.

Kano Pillars' legacy does not run that long. Their league title was their third on the trot, equalling a record of successive titles held by Heartland and Enyimba and their fourth overall. Pillars' defense started poorly with just one win from their opening five matches but they gained momentum as the season progressed. Mid-campaign, they went 10 matches unbeaten, which ultimately led to their success at the end.


Pillars' players will hope their performances would have caught the eye of national administrators or, as Azeez Shobowale admitted, overseas clubs.


Shobowale netted a brace in the victory which guaranteed his team the title and hinted he was open to offers from afar. "This is where I hope to play last in Nigeria before I secure any move of Europe in the transfer window," he said.


With only seven strikes in the season, he may be overlooked in favour of someone like Enyimba's Mfon Udoh who broke the Nigerian Professional Football League's record for number of goals. Udoh netted 21 times for his club and with Nigeria in need of goals as they look to qualify for the 2015 African Nations' Cup over the next two weeks, he may find that its the national team who come calling before anyone from abroad.