Sport in Cameroon

Last updated

Youths playing basketball at the Molyko Omnisport stadium, Buea University students playing basket ball.jpg
Youths playing basketball at the Molyko Omnisport stadium, Buea
Cycling tour , Cameroon Tournoi de cyclisme.jpg
Cycling tour , Cameroon
Women playing Volleyball in Cameroon Match de VolleyBall.jpg
Women playing Volleyball in Cameroon
Athletes at Mount Cameroon Athele au Mont Cameroun.jpg
Athletes at Mount Cameroon
School children in a wrestling competition in Cameroon Enfants lutteurs ++.jpg
School children in a wrestling competition in Cameroon
Children in Tug of War game Anniversaire d'enfants 07.jpg
Children in Tug of War game
Canoe Race on the Wouri River Course de pirogues sur le Wouri.jpg
Canoe Race on the Wouri River
Swimming competition Activites du Ngondo 11.jpg
Swimming competition

Sports in Cameroon is practiced widely by the population and advocated by the national government. Cameroonians take pride in victories at international competitions, making sport an important source of national unity. [1] Traditional sports in Cameroon include canoe racing, swimming, tug of war, and wrestling. Wrestling has featured in the initiation rites and other ceremonies of ethnic groups such as the Bakweri and the Duala. [2]

Contents

However, in modern times, sports such as basketball, boxing, cycling, handball, netball, caber toss, and table tennis have become popular. [3] The 40 km (24.8 mi) Mount Cameroon Race of Hope draws several hundred runners each year. [4] Tourists hike, rock climb, and mountaineer, especially up Mount Cameroon. [5] Yaoundé, Tiko and Kribi have golf courses. [6] Rugby union is also played, with about 15 clubs and 3,000 players nationally. [7]

Cameroon faces Germany at Zentralstadion in Leipzig, 27 April 2003. Cameroon vs Germany 2003.jpg
Cameroon faces Germany at Zentralstadion in Leipzig, 27 April 2003.
Traditional wrestling Lutteurs traditionnels1.jpg
Traditional wrestling

The most popular sport by far is football (soccer). Virtually every village has its own football pitch, and large numbers of spectators watch games between rival villages. [2] The Cameroon national football team has gained world recognition since their strong showing in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The team has won five African Cup of Nations titles. Footballer Roger Milla is known around the world, and the 2003 death of Marc-Vivien Foé during a game made international headlines. [6] Many Cameroonian footballers have gone on to forge relatively successful careers in Europe, including Christian Bassogog who was named African best player of the 2017 African Nations Cup in Gabon 2017. [8] Rigobert Song and African Footballer of the Year winners Lauren and Samuel Eto'o.

Children begin playing sports in primary and secondary school. At the university level, the National Federation for College and University Sports (FENASCO; Fédération National des Sports Scholaire et Universitaire) organises school competitions. The agency also handles provincial competitions at the primary-school level and national games at the secondary-school level. [9] Many sports have their own organising body, including the Cameroon Boxing Federation (FECABOXE), the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT), and the Cameroon Handball Federation (FECAHAND). The Cameroon Olympic Committee is another national sports agency, [1] and Cameroon is one of the few tropical countries to have competed in the Winter Olympics.

Football match in progress in a local community in Cameroon Match de football.jpg
Football match in progress in a local community in Cameroon
Before a football match in a village in Cameroon Foot groups.jpg
Before a football match in a village in Cameroon

Sports teams are organised along ethnic lines in Francophone Cameroon and under corporate or departmental sponsorship in Anglophone Cameroon. Teams develop fierce rivalries, and violence is not uncommon during matches. Training of athletes is handled by several sports institutes, including some owned by corporate sponsors, such as the Brasseries du Cameroun's l'École de Football des Brasseries du Cameroun (EFBC) in Douala. [1]

UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou hails from Cameroon.

Volleyball

The Volleyball Cup of Cameroon takes place on a regular basis. In June 2021, all the women's matches were played at the gymnasium of the National Advanced School of Public Works.

The women's main teams included FAP, Nyong, Kelle, Bafia Volleyball Evolution and Club Efoulan. [10]



Sports Activities

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 DeLancey and DeLancey 251.
  2. 1 2 Mbaku 185.
  3. Mbaku 184.
  4. West 127.
  5. West 92.
  6. 1 2 West 93.
  7. Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Bassogog named Player Total Man of 2017 Africa Cup of Nations". Goal.com. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. DeLancey and DeLancey 250.
  10. "Volleyball Cup of Cameroon - Finalists Known". Cameroon Tribune . 7 June 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameroon</span> Country in Central Africa

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages, in addition to the national tongues of English and French, or both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Milla</span> Cameroonian footballer (born 1952)

Albert Roger Miller, known as Roger Milla, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team.

Les Sociétés Anonymes des Brasseries du Cameroun is a brewing company in Cameroon. Their offices and main factory are in Douala, with other breweries in Bafoussam, Douala, Garoua, and Yaoundé. Les Brasseries et Glacieres Internationales (BGI) owns a 75% share in the company, and Heineken owns 8.8%.

Ephrem Marie M'Bom was a Cameroonian professional footballer. He competed for the Cameroon national football team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Ambasse bey or ambas-i-bay is a style of folk music and dance from Cameroon. The music is based on commonly available instruments, especially guitar, with percussion provided by sticks and bottles. The music is faster-paced than assiko.

Paul Rolland Bebey Kingué is a Cameroonian former professional footballer.

Joseph Edouard Oum Ndeki was a Cameroonian footballer who last played for Rodos.He started his career in high school where he played for Lycéede New bell soccer team and quickly captioned the attention of national league recruiters.He was forced to quit high school and his first contract with Union Sportive De Douala, a division one team based in Douala. His professional career in Cameroon led him to play for Mount Cameroon FC and Coton Sport de Garoua where he was discover by Cameroon National Team Coach Pierre Le Chantre who granted him his first selection with the National Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameroonian Football Federation</span> Governing body of football in Cameroon

The Cameroonian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Cameroon. It is known as FECAFOOT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Onguéné</span> Cameroonian footballer

Gabrielle Aboudi Onguéné is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for CSKA Moscow in the Russian Championship and the Cameroon national team. She previously played for Rossiyanka.

Charles Léa Eyoum is a Cameroonian retired professional football player and manager. A forward, he competed for the Cameroon national football team at the 1972 African Cup of Nations.

Jude Vernyuy Kongnyuy is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a forward for Yong Sports Academy.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Douala, Cameroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collins Fai</span> Cameroonian footballer (born 1992)

Collins Ngoran Fai is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Serbian SuperLiga club Radnički Niš and the Cameroon national team. Mainly a right back, he can also operate as a left back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Bassogog</span> Cameroonian footballer (born 1995)

Christian Mougang Bassogog is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Süper Lig club Ankaragücü and the Cameroon national team as a right winger or forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameroon at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Cameroon competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's fourteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japoma Stadium</span> Stadium in Douala, Cameroon

The Japoma Stadium is a 50,000-capacity all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Douala, Cameroon. It is part of a sports complex that also consists of an indoor arena for basketball, handball, futsal and volleyball, tennis courts and an 8-lane Olympic-size swimming pool, as well as conference and commercial centres, a hotel and a parking lot. The stadium also has an athletic track.

Blind football in Cameroon is a sport played by people with vision impairments in Cameroon. The sport is currently in the development stage, with various activities supporting these efforts. A national competition for the sport took place in September 2016.

Blind sports in Cameroon include goalball, torball, athletics, African wrestling, judo and 5-a-side football. Blind sports first began in the 2000s, with Cameroon participating in national and international competitions, and hosting workshops. In 2010, a new law was passed to try to increase enforcement of making buildings handicap accessible.

Félix Tonye Mbog was a Cameroonian politician. He served in multiple ministerial roles from 1975 to 1985.

Wilfried Nathan Douala is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Elite One club Victoria United.

References