Cameroon enter history book with first Women’s title

By Jejje Muhinde

Yaoundé, Cameroon, October 18, 2017- Cameroon put their name in the history book after they grabbed their first ever women title at the African Nations Championship they hosted in Yaoundé, October 7 to 14, 2017.

Cameroon is the most frequently participating team in this competition as they took part in 14 out of 18 editions preceding Kenya and Egypt with 12 participations each, but their biography was free of any gold medal until 2017 when they get their first trophy after beating the record holders Kenya (9 titles), in the final 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 29-27).

Cameroon had a 100 % record of victories in the competition conceding only 2 sets throughout the 9 nation tournament. They started their campaign by beating Botswana 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-17) in the first match. They then overcame Algeria 3-1 (25-20, 25-9, 17-25, 25-10) before beating Egypt at the end of the preliminary round 3-1 (20-25, 30-28, 25-17, 25-18) to lead Pool A.

In the semifinal, they continued the victory rhythm to win Senegal 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 27-25) to proceed to the final against 9-time champion Kenya.

In terms of the organization, Cameroon VB Federation aided by the Ministry of Youth did a great job with full success in both opening and closing ceremonies. The great spectator attendance in all matches especially the final added to this success and giving African Volleyball its own flavor.

CAVB President’s Dr. Amr Elwani’s meeting with the Cameroonian Minister of Sports Bidoung Mkpatt and the Prime- Minister Philemon Yang boosted the Country’s development programme of Volleyball at school and added to the competition success.