Issue 1

 

 

Sports

Cotonsport

Cameroon

 

 

Founded: 1986

Stadium: Stadium: Garoua 50,000

African record: 1995 (caf) 1997 (caf quarterfinal) 1998 (cc) 1999 (cc) 2000 (caf quarterfinal) 2001 (caf semi-final) 2002 (cc) 2003 (caf finalistsl)  2004 (con group stage) 2005 (cl) 2006 (cl) 2007 (con) 2008 (cl finalists) 2009 (con) 2010 ()

League:  1997 1998 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Cup: 2003 2004 2007 2008
Website:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Football Clubs

lASEC  lCotonspot lDynamoes  lIsmailia

l Moroka Swallows  lSt.George lSimba lSport Club Villa

 

lGuide to colours and websites of 150 top African clubs

 

 

Historical background

Garoua lies in northern Cameroon along the Benue River, an oasis in an otherwise dry region, which has made the city the centre of the Cameroun cotton industry. Cotonsport Football Club were formed in 1986 under the sponsorship of the ‘Society for the Development of Cotton’ to fill the gap after the region’s top club, Etoile Filante, were relegated.

Iya Muhammad, a local businessman and influential President of the Cameroon Football Federation, was and remains an influential figure in the club, holding the position of Honorary President.

 

11980-2001

 The combination of sponsorship and good management allowed Cotonsport to make rapid progress and the club worked its way through the regional leagues to reach the top division of the national league in 1993. The following year they finished runners up, which qualified them for the CAF Cup. Their maiden African campaign brought a win over Mogas 90 and then eliminated at hands of Agaza.

Cotonsport built on this success to win their first title in 1997 under the guidance of former national coach Jules N’yongo and they confirmed their new status by retaining the title the following year. Erne Etchi was selected for the 1998 Nations Cup and in the summer Joseph Ndo was a surprise call up for the Cameroon World Cup squad.

While domestic success – there was a third league title in 2001 - could be explained by the decline of the big city clubs, Cotonsport were also starting to build up a reputation in African competitions, reaching the CAF quarter finals in the 2000 and semi finals in 2001.

 

2001-

As an industrial team Cotonsport had initially struggled to win supporters but success drew in the fans and the club became seen as ambassadors for the entire region. The passionate support now combines with the local climate – Garoua can be ten degrees hotter than the coast - to give the side a considerable advantage when playing at home.

A healthy budget and good management, with Pierre Kaptene a long term President, has also helped and from 2003 Cotonsport reached a new peak, winning six consecutive titles and achieved a cup and league double on four occasions. 2005 stands out with the club winning the title by 18pts, scoring 47 goals and conceding just 18.

Although their best players inevitably moved overseas, Cotonsport were able to rebuild their team from the pick of the locally based players. They also have the funds to strengthen the side with players imported from neighbouring countries. Congo strike Francis Litsingi was the league’s top scorer in 2006 before moving to Hungary, Liberian Alex Nimely played here from 2006 -08 before moving to the English premier league and more recently the striking force has been led by Niger international Daouda Kamilou. Indeed the regular recruitment of players from across the border with Niger has allowed Cotonsport to acquire a large fan base there.

In 2008 they achieved a league and cup double, the cup final producing a classic game with Aigle. Cotonsport seemed to be cruising to an easy victory when they were leading 3-0 with only half an hour to play, but Aigle scored twice to set up a dramatic finish, Cotonsport finally winning 4-2.

At the same time Cotonsport were qualifying for the group stage of the Champion’s League. With one match to go they were in third place but their game with Enyimba was moved back to the Sunday by which time the Nigerian’s qualification had been assured by the previous day’s results and Cotonsport had a suspiciously easy 3-0 win.

The final opened with a 0-2 away defeat to continental giants Al Ahly, which left Cotonsport in a precious position. However they had built up a formidable home record that season, having won all seven of their Champions League games with a 17-0 goal difference. Cotonsport dominated the opening 40 minutes and then disastrously conceded a goal. The rest of the game was a passionate attempt to get back into contention and Cotonsport were 2-1 up at one stage before a last minute penalty to El Ahly finally destroyed their hopes.

Despite their reputation for good management Cotonsport have had a troublesome time with coaches recently. French coach Denis Lavagne departed before the group stage of the Champions League and his replacement Alain Ouombleon failed to survive a disappointing  2009 when Cotonsport, struggling to rebuild the team ended the season without a trophy.

However the side, once again coached by Lavagne, bounced back in 2010 with their 10th league title. The new star of the side was Vincent Aboubaka, a striker who was playing in the first team at 15 and was the only local player named in the Cameroon 2010 World Cup squad.