There was a time when Cameroon was known for its superb footballing talents. At that time, most people knew the name of Roger Milla than the name of the country from which he came. Those days are long gone. Today, thanks to Paul's Biya's perfection of corruption and incompetence in the country, talents are hard to find. Now, in order to prepare for the upcoming World Cup for which Cameroon only managed to qualify, Cameroonian officials are now said to be scouring Europe, looking for Cameroonian talents there. It is a shame that Cameroon's talent should be nursed in Europe instead of Cameroon. Those officials who are doing this talent hunt in Europe should ask themselves when Cameroon has ever performed well with mostly European talents. As far as I remember, when Roger Milla mesmerized the footballing world with his skills, he was not playing in Europe. Roger Milla perfected his skills in Cameroon before he went to Europe. When in 1982 Cameroon put up an excellent performance at the World Cup, most of the players in that team were playing in Cameroon; it was only after the 1982 World Cup that Europe came looking for them. When in 1990, Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter finals at the World Cup, Cameroon did so with mostly home grown players. Europe came looking for them after the World Cup.
Since then the process seems to have reversed. Instead of relying on talents plying their trade in the country, Cameroonian scouts are now going to Europe to look for old and tired players such as Eto'o and his friends. The country no longer has a national league that can grow good players. The football infrastructure in the country is so dilapidated that football cannot be played at night in the country even at the stadium in the national capital, Yaoundé, because the flood-lights there are bad. It is no wonder that at the last World Cup in South Africa Cameroon was the first country to fail to qualify for the second round. I wonder why we should expect anything different in Brazil in 2014. Cameroon's football, just like the country itself, has fallen into disrepair. We need a new vision.
Since then the process seems to have reversed. Instead of relying on talents plying their trade in the country, Cameroonian scouts are now going to Europe to look for old and tired players such as Eto'o and his friends. The country no longer has a national league that can grow good players. The football infrastructure in the country is so dilapidated that football cannot be played at night in the country even at the stadium in the national capital, Yaoundé, because the flood-lights there are bad. It is no wonder that at the last World Cup in South Africa Cameroon was the first country to fail to qualify for the second round. I wonder why we should expect anything different in Brazil in 2014. Cameroon's football, just like the country itself, has fallen into disrepair. We need a new vision.
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