The players aren’t even shocked anymore. “This kind of hiccup happens all the time,” says Makamte Fabiola, player at Montpellier 3M and member of the Cameroon national team. But this time, the sanction is heavy: no Olympics. Cameroonian handball players were scheduled to fly to Debrecen (Hungary) on April 11 to try to win a ticket to Paris 2024 during an Olympic qualifying tournament. They will remain, disappointed and upset, at the doors of the plane, being replaced by the United Kingdom team.
“The Cameroon national team did not comply with the documents required to obtain the visa to travel to Hungary in time to participate in the women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament (TQO), affirmed the international handball federation (IHF ) In a press release on April 9. The next day, the country’s national handball federation confirmed. “FECAHAND regrets to confirm the non-participation of the team in the Olympic qualifying tournament.”
“It’s a disappointment not to be able to make the most of your chances, to have a result imposed on you that you can’t control,” says Makamte Fabiola, who, injured, was not in the selection this time. Many will say that we had no chance of getting out of it but the girls believed it. We are coming off a good World Cup, we stood up to some tough opponents. There was room. Even without talking about victory, it’s always a plus to play big teams.”
“Documents have not been validated: which ones? Why ? how ? We do not know “
The Lionesses finished second at the Luanda 2023 Ladies TQO last October. They had qualified on this occasion for the April one which they ultimately did not set foot in. And this “Despite all the efforts made by the Hungarian Federation and the International Handball Federation, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in recent weeks,” specifies the IHF. Same story on the FECAHAND side. “This decision was taken despite all the efforts made by the State of Cameroon and the Federation.” So who is to blame ?
Former handball international Karichma Ekoh reacts following the non-participation of her former team in the TQO for Paris 2024. She left the Cameroon team in 2021.
“It’s strange, that’s what we said to each other with the girls,” says Makamte Fabiola. The competition has been planned since the World Cup, we have been waiting for it since October, it is the same players, the team has not changed. We just know that some documents have not been validated: which ones? Why ? how ? We do not know. It’s weird. » They are awaiting explanations from the federation, which, when contacted, did not respond to our requests.
“There is a big responsibility on the part of our Federation”
FECAHAND affirms in his press release having multiplied initiatives to obtain an appointment at the German consulate, responsible for visas. Who would have fired him without examining the files for lack of insurance certificate. “While the carrier was outside” ready to make them available.
“It’s unjustifiable,” says Paola Ebanga, center half of the Cameroonian team. There is a big responsibility on the part of our Federation which came very late to make the requests. “. Two days before the event, they still did not have their plane ticket. Reason why the player, although selected for the TQO, had declined.
“The problem is also at the state level,” she adds. If our sport was taken seriously, this wouldn’t have happened.” The event is not isolated. Lack of organization, unpaid bonuses: the Federation is increasing its slip-ups. Abba Oumate, its president, apologized to the players who demand change.
