Cameroon marked its return to the continental rugby scene in Africa by playing a friendly against the Congolese Red Devils in Brazzaville, Congo, at Massamba stadium on November 29.
The game, whose final result was 00-00, also marked the Cameroon team’s first official travel outside the country in 7 years.
Cameroon’s rugby federation had been suspended by the sport’s governing body in the continent, Rugby Africa, initially for three months in May 2017.
Cameroon was sanctioned because of disagreements between managers and delays in the organisation of the Bronze Cup, a third tier competition of an annual rugby tournament.
The Cameroon Rugby Federation was reinstated as a member of Rugby Africa according to a press release signed by the Secretary General of the organisation in July this year.
Khaled Babbou, President of Rugby Africa, expressed his happiness with Cameroon’s reintegration into Rugby Africa and welcomed it to the development programme.
“It is an important and growing rugby community and with the right organization it will prosper in the coming years. Congratulations to the President and his team for paving the next steps for Cameroon’s rugby future. I hope we will soon also see matches against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon as we count equally on the development of the Gabonese rugby federation despite the current delicate situation. This would be a great opportunity for Gabonese rugby to expand further.”
Rugby is a minor but growing sport in the West African nation. The sport’s growth has been hampered by poor economic conditions and an exodus of players out of the country, mainly to France.
