Cameroon has never shone during this tournament. On August 30, the country conceded its third consecutive defeat in the world championship which is currently being played in Slovenia.
Three times did the volleyball Indomitable Lions have the opportunity to assert their title of vice-champion of Africa. But in three outings at the world volleyball championship, they registered only defeats. Worse still, the Cameroonians could not win a single set.
This setback began on August 26, 2022. Guy Roger Nanga’s foals lost 3 sets to 0 (25-19, 23-25, 25-21) against one of the organizing countries, Slovenia. After this defeat, it was expected that the Lions could roar in their second outing against Germany. But unfortunately; the Nationalmannschaft overpowered the indomitable lions, 3-0 (30-28, 25-14, 25-19).
Then came the third opportunity to save honor. Cameroon was opposed to the reigning Olympic champion, France, and who also won the volleyball nations league. During this encounter mastered by France, Cameroon once again did not win any set.
This completely missed participation of the Lions is explained among other things by the bias that there is between the professionalization of volleyball in the Western and that in Africa. Added to this as the coach of the Lions, Guy Roger Nanga, explains, “The Cameroon national team is a new generation. There is a transition. You will see that in 2023, we will end up with three or four former players at most. So it’s a new generation that is being put in place.”
All eyes are now set on the 2023 volleyball African Nations Championship which will be played in Côte d’Ivoire. An opportunity for Cameroon to put into practice the lessons learned during the world volleyball championship.
