They are currently fine tuning preparations in a second training camp in Yaounde. The national under 23 football squad is currently fine tuning their tactics ahead of a friendly tournament to take place in Egypt from July 26 to August 4. As opposed to the first training camp which dwelled on the physical fitness of players, the second and last training camp focuses on oiling the tactical machinery put in place. 25 players responded present to the call of Coach, Dieudonné Nke, for the first training camp and only 24 players are present this time due to the fact that some of the players have no passports or have a problem of double identity. The national Olympic squad is under reconstruction ever since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when the Lions attained the quarter finals of the competition. Since then, most of the players have gone beyond the age limit for this category and there has been a change of coaches from Ntoungou Mpile to Dieudonné Nke. Dieudonné Nke says the reconstruction of the team is made difficult by the fact that most players have gone for tests outside the country and it is therefore difficult to constitute a homogenous group given that the players who showed up for the first training camp are the same ones who have turned up for the second training camp. The coach of the Olympic Lions says he wants the core of team to be made up of home-based players given that competitions in this category do not coincide with the FIFA period which renders the liberation of players difficult by their respective clubs. Relevant LinksThe upcoming tournament in Egypt, he said, is going to enable him evaluate the work done so far with the local players as professionals will only be called in during the qualifiers for the All African Games and the London Olympics of 2012. the under 23 Lions played a warm up match against the Cadet national team who have equally been in camp in preparation for the qualifiers of the African cup of Nations in that category coming up in Rwanda 2011. The Olympics Lions leave Cameroon for Egypt on Friday July 23 to take part in an international friendly tournament that will bring together some ten countries including Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Cyprus, Burkina Faso, host Egypt and Cameroon. Be the first to Write a Comment! Copyright © 2010 Cameroon Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. AllAfrica - All the Time
|