Cameroon's class of 2000 demands 'befitting compensation'
Former Cameroon forward Patrick Mboma was also part of the team that won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
What you need to know:
- The Indomitable Lions followed in the footsteps of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who were the first African team to win gold in the football event, four years earlier at the Atlanta showpiece.
- As they wait for the president's response, it is worthy to note that Françoise Mbango, who also won a gold medal in athletics at the same Olympics, before repeating this feat four years later in Athens, received an undisclosed significant amount of money and a house from Biya.
In Yaounde
Members of the Cameroon national football team, who gave the country its first-ever gold medal in the sport at the Olympics, have written to President Paul Biya requesting a “befitting compensation”.
The Sydney 2000 Games football gold medallists took the move after President Biya fulfilled a 30-year-old promise to the senior squad that represented the country at the 1990 Fifa World Cup in Italy.
Cameroon's striker Samuel Eto'o (C) jogs with teammates during a team training session in Free State stadium in Bloemfontein on June 13, 2010 on the eve of their 2010 World Cup match against Japan. File | Afp
Last Thursday, President Biya ordered the General Manager of the Cameroon Real Estate Corporation (SIC) to give 22 modern houses to members of the Italia ’90 squad that reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, becoming first African nation to reach that level of the competition. The feat prompted Fifa to increase the number of slots for Africa at the global showpiece.
Following Biya's move, the Sydney 2000 team met and agreed that their captain, Geremi Sorele Njitap, should write to President Biya requesting that their heroic performances 20 years ago be feted, one of the team members, Namekong Serge Branco disclosed.
Cameroon's national football team "Indomitable Lions" (L-R front) Achille Emana, Jean II Makoun, Landry N'guemo, Nicolas Nkoulou, Stephane Mbia; (L-R back) goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, Henri Bedimo Nsame, Somen Tchoyi, Pierre Webo, Rogobert Song, and Geremi Njitap pose for a photograph before their friendly match against Kenya's Harambee Stars at the Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, January 9, 2010. File | Afp
“We believe we achieved the highest feat Cameroonian football has ever had on the world stage,” Branco told Cameroon-Info.net.
Coach Jean-Paul Akono blended the then youngsters Geremi Njitap, Lauren Etame Mayer and Samuel Etoo with stalwarts like Patrick Mboma and Serge Mimpo to produce a winning team.
Left-back Pierre Wome scored the clinching penalty kick as Cameroon outscored Spain 5-3 in the shootout, this after the two teams wound up tied at 2-2 after 120 minutes in the final.
It completed a memorable double for the Indomitable Lions, who had earlier in the year won the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Indomitable Lions followed in the footsteps of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who were the first African team to win gold in the football event, four years earlier at the Atlanta showpiece.
Ex-Cameroon footballer Lauren Etame-Mayer at the Kenya school of Monetary Studies (KSMS) on December 9, 2016. He was also part of the team that won gold at the Sydney Olympics. File | Nation Media Group
As they wait for the president's response, it is worthy to note that Françoise Mbango, who also won a gold medal in athletics at the same Olympics, before repeating this feat four years later in Athens, received an undisclosed significant amount of money and a house from Biya.
