Cameroon begins CEMAC Cup preparations

Some 33 of the 66 players initially shortlisted are undergoing training in Odja-Yaounde.

Some two months to go to the kick off of the 9th edition of the Cemac Cup, Cameroon has already begun preparing for the competition. A first set of 33 players from the 66 selected at this level of preparations are currently undergoing training at the Fecafoot Technical Centre in Odja-Yaounde.

The training which began on May 5th will end on May 10th to give way for the second set of players.

According to the coach of the Intermediate Lions, Djonkep Bonaventure, the selection of players was done by his colleagues during a training seminar for coaches recently in Yaounde during which they were asked to submit two names from each club. After this first phase of training which he said was geared at detecting talents, some 25 players will be shortlisted for the second phase of the preparation which will run from May 26th to June 12th.

This phase of the training will comprise tactical and physical training and will culminate in two friendly matches against a local and foreign opponent. The third and last phase of the preparation will take place from June 30th to July 13, two days to the kick off of the tournament on July 13th.

The Cemac Cup formerly known as UDEAC cup is a non-commercialised football tournament that includes only local league players from the Republic of Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central African Republic. As the local leagues in these six countries are amateur leagues, it is a non-professional competition.

However it is a good competition for recruiters who want to sign new talent. These countries have also played seven tournaments before, the UDEAC Championship, from 1984 until 1990. After more than a decade, the same countries decided to revive the competition under another name, the CEMAC Cup. The tournament is organised by the Central African Football Federations' Union.