Football: ANAFOOT begins training in earnest

The National Football Academy, ANAFOOT begins professional training.

The first batch of fifty teenagers, thirty boys and twenty girls from Cameroon’s ten regional pools of ANAFOOT begin training in the sciences and techniques of football and academics.

The pioneer batch was selected through scouting, a process introduced by ANAFOOT management to ensure fairness and professionalism.

ANAFOOT began the selection process in February 2018.

The criteria for selection included morphological and other technical considerations

Fifty Young players between 11 and 12  years were retained  by the regional branches of ANAFOOT.

In all, five hundred prospective players of both sexes were selected and trained within a period of six months in the first phase.

During the six month period, professionals with a good mastery in specific domains drilled the trainees.

The second phase of selection saw ten boys and five girls  from each region retained.

Mathematically, one hundred fifty talents (150) were retained from the ten regions.

According to one of the field members, Aquenyuy Ndatchi Lucien, experts from Cameroon and France  were later called in to select fifty based on technical and morphological abilities.

As the fifty prospective players gear up for a 5-6 year training, the National Football Academy begins scouting for the second batch at the regional level.

The regional pool’s role is therefore to identify the best talents in all sub- divisions that will be later absorbed by the national training centre.

ANAFOOT: Trainers

The trainers are generally coaches from the national and regional sporting institutions.

Course work will be based on the following:

-The volume of work according age

-Intensity of work

-Nutrition

-Morphological follow-up.

ANAFOOT :Training cost

According the  Director of ANAFOOT training centre, Joseph Atangana, the state finances training.

At the National level, each  trainees are expected to pay FCFA 400, 000 for technical equipment and  health coverage.

At the regional level, the institution gets FCFA 50.000 subsidised fee.

ANAFOOT ; a centre with a difference

The National Football Acedemy undertakes to an ultra modern training.

One of the staffers at ANAFOOT, Aquenyuy Ndatchi Lucien says the football training centre will help incorporate talents in strictly scientific method.

To him, the training will adapt to most recent scientific changes and innovations.

Trainees of the centre will be exposed to other training options through exchange visits.

 ANAFOOT: The President’s initiative

The National Football Academy was created in 2014 by a Presidential decree to ensure the growth of professional football in Cameroon.

On 24th May 2017  another  Presidential decree appointed Carl Enow Ngatchu , head coach of the national football team pioneer General Manager of the  National Football Academy, ANAFOOT.

Former President of CAF, Issa Hayatou  was also appointed  Board Chair.

Carl Enow Ngachu and Issa Hayatou,  are household names in football.

Carl Enow Ngachu is assisted in his function by Jules Eloy Mindjeme.

Benly Anchunda

@anchunda-benly