Cameroon has a wealth of talent moving overseas. Cameroonian football officials are examining whether they have the legal powers to halt the flow of players from the country’s shores each year.
Between January 2001 and September 2002, the Cameroonian FA had requests for international transfer certificates for 563 players, but many others are believed to have been involved in illegal moves.
The FA, Fecafoot, has created a committee which includes members of the immigration police to come up with some solutions.
There is no way we can stop a player from leaving the country
Fecafoot’s Jean-Rene Mballa
The exodus involves both top sides in Cameroon and teams as lowly as the third division.
Last year Tonnerre Yaounde lost seven players during their campaign to get to the Caf Cup final, leaving only 15 players in their first team squad at the end of the season.
Administrators beleive the mass movement is affecting club performances in continental competitions.
No club from Cameroon has won an African title in over two decades.
Fecafoot officials admit that they have limited powers to act, but that they are getting increasingly worried about players leaving the country.
Fecafoot secretary-general Jean-Rene Mballa
The secretary-general, Jean-Rene Mballa, said the rules oblige Fecafoot to deliver a transfer certificate seven days after a demand is made.
« There is no way we can stop a player from leaving the country once he finds a club abroad, » Mballa explained.
But Fecafoot is going to crack down on the illegal transfer of players searching for greener pastures.
Mballa says clubs involved in continental competitions must submit a list of their squads to embassies and immigration services.
The idea is these players will not be granted visas except where Fecafoot has given authorisation.
However, with rampant corruption in Cameroon, it is possible to change one’s identity in as little as a day.
And with few clubs having formal contracts with players, there is little they can do to stop players taking up better deals overseas.
Martin Etonge
BBC Sport Online in Yaounde
