The first preparatory meeting took place at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education recently.
Cameroon will host the 5th edition of the Cemac cup from 1st December 2007 to 15 January 2008. In order to give the event the pomp and pageantry it deserves, officials of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education as well as the Cameroon football federation, held a preparatory meeting last 18 September under the auspices of the Secretary General of that ministry who was representing the minister.
The secretary General, Paul Ahmadou, called on participants to be serious in the organisation as the Cemac cup was the only football tournament that brings together all the six heads of state in the CEMAC region.
In addition to the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium, eight other stadiums have been short listed to host the event. They include; the military stadium in Yaounde, the Presidential guard playground in Obili-Yaounde, the two stadiums of the University of Yaounde, the BEAC sports complex and the three annex stadiums of the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium.
Participants resolved to start technical preparations from now and to urgently recruit an advertising commissioner for the event.
The Cemac was formally known as UDEAC cup involving Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central African Republic and Cameroon. They played seven tournaments under UDEAC from 1984 to 1990. After more than a decade and when UDEAC changed to Cemac ‘Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa’ the same countries decided to revive the competition under the name of CEMAC cup. Cameroon won the competition in 2003 and 2005. Equatorial Guinea won it in 2007 and Congo-Brazzaville won the last edition in 2007. Cameroon will therefore be fighting for a third trophy this year. The CEMAC Cup is an amateur football tournament that includes only local league players from those countries.
Fred VUBEM, CT
