Mathurin Kamini, former goalkeeper of Kumbo Strikers and Cotonsport of Garoua, was recently voted the best keeper in Egypt. Before Kamini moved to Egypt, through his brilliant performances in the two named clubs, he had become a household name in Cameroon.
The Post recently caught up Kamini who, at 30, now plays for Araas El Hodood of Alexandra, a first division team in Egypt. Kamini says he is not satisfied just being the best goalkeeper, he yearns for much more than that.
‘My plans are working well and this football season in Egypt may certainly be the last one. I’ve been here for four years. Europe is my dream.’However, he is nursing hopes of joining the national team ‘If I am called to join the national team, I will come. Everybody likes to play in his national team. I am here for football and only for football. Egyptians have seen my qualities and that is why I was voted best keeper.’
Kamini opened up on why he left Cameroon quietly. The storey as he told it is that he sustained an injury that prevented him from travelling to Ghana for the match that pitted Cotonsport against Heart of Ox in which the latter won. ‘I became the object of hatred for Cotonsport fans, the club officials and even the football federation that threatened to sanction me.’ He revealed that he was abandoned and the officials even asked him to go and treat himself. « If it was not for my sister, who rescued me, I would have died, » Kamini said.
The goalkeeper debunked rumours that he travelled to South Africa for test matches, stating that he was sick and home with his family.Apart from Kamini making news in the Egyptian premier league, another Cameroonian that is making great strides is Innocent Ngeumani Jeannot, the only outsider admitted into the Wadi Degla Arsenal Soccer School- a billion investment sports academy that boasts of several male and female football stadiums.
Barely 20, Ngameni is already an idol, loved not only by his Egyptian trainers but also by his mates in the academy.Playing football in Egypt is not, however, all roses, as some Cameroonian players have not been able to cope and have left.
By Leocadia Bongben
