As the Cameroon football governing body, FECAFOOT emarked on a crusade to professionalise football in Cameroon, divergent views have been flowing on the management of the nation’s football power house. We caught up with the newly appointed communication officer who thinks many things have changed at the instituition. He equally believes the recent qualification of of the Lions for the 2010 world cup is as a result of a reunion between FECAFOOT and the Ministry of sports and physical education.
Camfoot.com : You are just some months old as the Communicator Officer of Fecafoot. How comfortable are you with your function ?
Junior Binyam : I have been trained as journalist and I have practiced for more than ten years before deciding to try something else with the opportunity given to me to join Fecfaoot at the beginning of this year 2009. Since primary school I’ve been involved in Football. I have played « Coupe Top » several times between the age of 9 and 12. After that I was one of the key member of the association of youth supporters of Tonnerre Kalara Club of Yaounde in the early 90s. When I started working as journalist in 1998, I was systematically empowered to be the head of the sports desk in every newspaper I was enrolled.
So I’m not a stranger in football. I know the environment and was close to some players of the national team in the early 90s while still in high school. I know a couple of things about the tribulation of our football. With the experience gain as journalist and the knowledge acquired in Advanced School of Mass Communication (Asmac) in fields like Public relation, I will try to be up to the task. It is a new professional experience and I’m quite motivated by the challenge given the fact that I’m also the one in charge of national competitions in the department of competitions.
Camfoot.com : In your role as the communication officer how much can you assessed the level of work done so far by the fecafoot to improve on football especially the first division ?
Junior Binyam : We are coming from so far and I can assessed that many have been done in less than ten years. Thanks to the Federation, clubs can now received each year money and equipment from MTN, the main sponsor of the first and second division championship. Referees and other officials are paid in advance and we are no more facing the problem of referees going for a match in the hinterland and laying on clubs to be able to go back home, with the suspicion you can imagined. Even the referees are receiving the equipments from MTN.
Rules have been put in place to make sure players would signed contract and be able to improve their life condition while playing football. The modernization of the administration and the professionalization of the game, aimed by Mr Iya Mohammed, are becoming reality day after day. The matches of the championship and the Cup of Cameroon are well planned, and the chronogram, known in advance by all the actors, is well followed.
Some initiatives are taken since the beginning of the new season by Fecafoot and MTN to increase the attendance. The two partners as part of the convention signed between them have also tackled the issue of infrastructure which is one of the key issue of the development of sport in Cameroon. A modern stadium build in Mbouda is already available for international and national matches. The building of another one is going on in Guider at the moment and will be achieved lately in January 2010. And there is money available to build a third stadium. During the renewal of the convention between Fecafoot and Mtn on the 21st of October 2009 in Yaounde it has been planned that two other stadiums will be financed till 2011. The objective is to build trough that convention one stadium in each region of the country.
Camfoot.com : As an observer of football what difference can you make of Fecafoot today and that in the past years ?
Junior Binyam : As previously said, many things have changed. Today, most of the regional leagues are in offices owned by Fecafoot and they have the minimum of equipments to insure a smooth coordination with the general secretariat in Yaounde. Ten years ago Fecafoot did not even have an office. At that time people were supposed to rush to market to find out equipments for national teams a couple of hours before a crucial match. Thanks to the contract signed with Puma this is no more the case.
The Federation which is no more receiving the financial assistance of the government since many years is able to face the charges like salaries and others. And there is a will to modernize the administration and conditions of work are improved.
Camfoot.com : It seems some clubs are disgruntled with the fact that your main partner MTN impose its logo on the front of their jerseys. what is your opinion on that ?
Junior Binyam : It is something usually heard. But I have not had yet a president of club really complaining about it. It is clearly stipulated in the convention and the regulation of the MTN Elite One and Two that the club who accept the money given by MTN is obliged to wear the jersey as designed and given by MTN. All the president of clubs are aware of that, since as members of Fecafoot, they have been part of the negotiation at the time of the renewal of the convention. But the opportunity is given to clubs to add other sponsors on their jerseys if those sponsors are not involved in telecommunications notably mobile phone and internet.
Camfoot.com : It seems Fecafoot and its partners have been working all along forgetting the media. How far have you gone so that the media gets involved?
Junior Binyam : Fecafoot is trying to give as much facilities as possible to journalist. As done usually on the international level, all the journalist who have apply for an accreditation have been accredited free of charge. But you know that the accreditation process cost money to Fecafoot. Even the cameramen, since the rights of the Elite One are yet to be sold. We have called the local television to discuss with us the conditions of broadcasting live, free of charge, the matches of the current season and nobody has reacted yet.
We have introduced for the « Top match », the key match selected for a day of play of Mtn Elite One, pre-match conference and mix zone after the matches. For those « Top matches », radio spots are paid and broadcast on some local radios covering the town were the match has been scheduled. All this is made to have media better involved and give them the opportunity to access to the information and to even gain money.
We have received a project from the Cameroon sports journalists association for a gala night at the end of the season to give awards to those (officials and players) who have distinguished themselves.
MTN is ready to finance that gala night. So am not sure that media are forgotten.
You know, media also have interest to work to ameliorate the attendance. If many people are again interested in local leagues, the numbers of listeners and readers will increased and they will be more interest on stories talking of local football. That will be an indicator of that their program will be well followed and this will surely attracted advertisers for those media.
Camfoot.com : Observers say the recent qualification of the lions to the world cup is as a result of a fruitful reunion between fecafoot and MINSEP. What appraisal do you make of it and how is the relationship at the moment between the two parties?
Junior Binyam : I think the relationship is as harmonious as it has never been since the decision taken by Fifa in the mid 90s to have the members of football association elected and no more appointed by government officials. And working hand in hand has made thing move smoothly for the Lions.
Camfoot.com : What are your personal goal as a communication officer of fecafoot?
Junior Binyam : I do not have a personal goal. I’m working in a team and any result, good or bad, is the responsibility of the whole team. You know, it is like football. It is a collective matter. The principle is the same in media, the field in which I have been working for the past 10 years. You cannot reached any personal goal without making your colleagues involved, because it’s a team work.
So my goal is to be member of a team that will bring back local football at the level it deserves. Before the Lions, Cameroonian football was known through clubs in the 70s. So being part of the project of M. Iya Mohammed to modernize and professionalize football in Cameroon, is a big challenge for me and I believe that Fecafoot as a team has the persons and the will to achieve the project.
