The most popular sport in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
is
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. The national team is traditionally one of the strongest teams on the African continent. They have participated in the World Cup 8 times, and in 1990 they reached the quarter-finals. It took extra time before
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
won the game 3–2. They have also won the
African Cup of Nations 5 times as well as winning Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000. Among the most famous players are
Roger Milla
Albert Roger Miller (born 20 May 1952), 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 Wor ...
,
Thomas N'Kono
Thomas N'Kono (born 20 July 1956) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer. One of the greatest goalkeepers from the continent of Africa, he was mainly associated with Espanyol, whom he represented for almost a decade playing more than 30 ...
and
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...
.
Competitions
National competitions
Cameroonian Football Federation, nicknamed Fécafoot, has been organizing the
Cameroon Football Championship since 1961. The most titled Club is the
Cotonsport Garoua
Coton Sport Football Club de Garoua, or simply Coton Sport, is a Cameroonian football club based in Garoua. They play their home games at the Stade Omnisport de Garoua, commonly known as the Roumde Adjia Stadium. The club is chaired by Sadou Fer ...
, 12 times champion. The championship has been renamed "MTN Elite One" Since the 2007 season and sponsorship by the South African telephone operator
MTN.
Cup
The
Cameroonian Cup The Cameroon Cup is the national football competition in Cameroon, on a knock-out-basis.
Cup Finals
Before independence
* 1941 : Caïman de Douala 6-0 Mikado ASTP
* 1942 : Caïman de Douala 3-1 Léopards Douala
* 1943 : Caïman de Douala
* 194 ...
was created in 1960. The
Canon Yaoundé
Canon Sportif de Yaoundé, commonly known as Canon Yaoundé, is a Cameroonian association football club based in capital city of Yaoundé. The club was formed in 1930 and play their games at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. Their most successful period was ...
won it eleven times.
National team
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team ( French: ''équipe du Cameroun de football''), also known as the Indomitable Lions (French: ''les lions indomptables''), represents Cameroon in men's international football. It is controlled by the Fédéra ...
, dubbed "the Indomitable Lions", is one of the most successful in Africa, winning five times the
African Cup of Nations (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017). in 1990, Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter-finals of the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
. In 2000, it won the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
International competitions
Cameroon organized the
African Cup of Nations (CAN) in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
,
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
and
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
. The competition was won by the
Congo. At that time congo was a single country
It also hosted the
CEMAC Cup in 1988 and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
Women's football
Cameroon women's national football team
The Cameroon national women's football team, also known as the Indomitable Lionesses, is the national team of Cameroon and is controlled by the Cameroon Football Association. They finished second in the 1991, 2004, 2014, and 2016 Africa Wome ...
played its first game on 15 June 1991 in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
(defeated 2–0) as Martin Spirit as Captain
. Cameroon has been runners up in
Africa Women Cup of Nations
The Women's Africa Cup of Nations, also called the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons and abbreviated to WAFCON, is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Conf ...
in 1991, 2004 and 2014. The national team competed for the first time at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, and first qualified for the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
.
References
{{Footy-stub