Cameroon: The Indomitable Lions play a friendly match against Russia this Thursday
On Thursday 12 October, the Cameroon national team will be the first non-Asian team to set foot on Russian soil for a friendly match since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A choice that has not failed to provoke reactions.
Since the attack on Ukraine, Russia has been excluded from all FIFA and UEFA competitions, playing only Asian nations. Despite these restrictions, Sbornaïa have been able to play friendly matches against teams such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. More recently, Russia travelled to Al-Wakrah to take on Qatar. But Cameroon’s visit to Moscow’s VTB Arena, five days before another friendly against the Lions in Senegal, marks a new turning point.
According to sources within the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot), the match «had been on the Russians’ wish list for several months. The discussions first involved the foreign affairs ministries, as such a match could not be arranged by agreement between federations».
The controversy surrounding this match stems not only from the current political situation but also from the venue. Many are wondering why Cameroon, an African nation, has agreed to play in Russia given the geopolitical tensions.
Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, did not block the match proposal. On the contrary, he was in favour of holding this friendly match between the two countries. The match was initially scheduled for last summer, but Rigobert Song’s troops ended up taking on Mexico. Be that as it may, this match will have undeniable political significance in addition to the purely sporting aspect.
