ACTUALITE |
30.06.2004
Football: Controversy Over New Division I Format
The new Division I football format, introduced this year, is well on the rails. Last week, the 18-team mini championship of the first phase came to an end; so too the fate of two clubs of Division I. Cintra of Yaounde and Renaissance of Ngoumou, which tailed the two pools, are out of the elite league. These two teams would have to feature in Division II next season.
The fate of the 16 other Division I clubs is diverse. However, Coton, Sable, Fovu and TKC, which played in Pool A, as well as Racing, Canon, Bamboutos and Union of Pool B, are certain of staying in Division I next season. These eight teams will play the "National Super League" on home and away basis. At the end of the Super League there shall be a classification table. The first team will win the title of Cameroon champions, while the second will be vice champion. The titles will confer on them the right to represent Cameroon in the CAF Champions League. The third team, on their part, will represent Cameroon in the Confederations Cup. The 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th teams will stay in Division One.
Eight other teams qualified for the second round (those that finished from the 5th to the 8th position in the two pools) are not yet sure of where they would play next season. Mount Cameroon, Unisport, KSA and Ngaoundere University in Pool A, as well as Botafogo, Victoria United, Esperance and PWD in Pool B will simply be fighting to stay in Division I. The title of Cameroon Champion is already out of their reach. In the same light, they can no longer dream of representing the country in continental competitions next season. These eight teams will play the "National League" on a home and away basis. At the end of the mini championship, there shall be a classification table. The first to the sixth team will stay in Division One, while the 7th and 8th position teams will be relegated to Division Two. This will bring to four the total number of teams demoted to Division Two this season. They will be replaced by division two clubs which finished first and second in their respective Interpool groups.
While advocates of this new format say it has the advantage that the entire country will, within the period of the tournament, vibrate to the rhythm of football, critics hold that the new format penalises some teams. Cintra and Renaissance, for example, will be out of the football scene between now and the start of next season. What will become of the players?. In the same light, teams evolving in the National League have nothing much at stake to fight for since they cannot vie for the title of Cameroon Champion, continental competitions, etc. The amount of subsidies which they receive from FECAFOOIT will also drop.
This not withstanding, it is only at the end of the season that one can make an objective appraisal of this new format voted by the supreme governing body of the Cameroon Football Federation, the General Assembly, on April 29, 2003.
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Hits: 1 | Source:cameroon-tribune.cm | |
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