Members of the Cameroonian Community in Qatar are counting down the days until the Cameroon national team kicks off their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 campaign against Switzerland at the Al Janoub Stadium on November 13.
The African football giants will make their seventh World Cup appearance in Qatar after missing out on Russia in 2018. They have been tied alongside five-time World Cup winners Brazil and Europeans Serbia and Switzerland in Group G of the November 20 to December 18 tournament.
In an interview with The Peninsula, chairman of the Cameroon Community in Qatar, Rene Mebenga (pictured) said, “It’s important for us seeing our country qualify and ready to participate in the World Cup. It is more important because we live and work in Qatar, and some have contributed directly or indirectly to the World Cup infrastructure.”
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The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon caused a major upset when they defeated North African side Algeria in the final round of World Cup qualification to book their spot in the competition. Mebenga believes the tournament for Cameroonians has received a lot more hype because of the new football administration head, Samuel Eto’o. The former Barcelona legend played in the Qatar Stars League for Qatar Sports Club and is a Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) ambassador for the World Cup.
“The way we qualified for the World Cup, beating Algeria in a stadium they had never lost before, was something special. We are not going to the World Cup just to play the first three matches, but we have seven matches to play, and we need to make sure that we play all of them, as Samuel Eto’o said. So this is creating a lot of hype around our national team, making many fans feel like this is the time now for Africa; we are going to get to the World Cup final. So there’s a lot of hype around our team after that speech of Eto’o,” he added.
According to Mebenga, African fans will feel at home in Qatar for the tournament due to certain cultural and societal similarities.
Speaking on the Cameroon community’s participation in several activities lined up to entertain fans, Mebenga said, “We performed during the FIFA Arab Cup, and they (SC) were happy with our performance. We have kept that relationship, and now we hope to be part of the cultural activities around stadiums, maybe even the streets, airport or the fan zone areas.”
When asked about his team’s chances in the competition, Mebenga responded that there is no “limit” to what the Lions may accomplish when the World Cup begins in November.
“I believe there is no boundary. We don’t restrict the team in any way. The phrase “L’impossible n’est pas Camerounais!” is used in Cameroon. (The unthinkable is not from Cameroon!) Our motto is to go all the way and surpass the accomplishments of the 1990 team.
