Warriors Focused & Motivated – Situation A Direct Opposite From 2019 : Mpandare
Warriors team manager Wellington Mpandare revealed the moral is high in Warriors camp ahead of their opening group B match against Senegal on the 10th of January.
Mpandare who was also on the helm when the team was rocked by disturbances during their final preparations for the Africa Cup of nations finals in 2019, said the situation prevailing in Cameroon is a direct opposite.
“I can say morale is at its all time high at this juncture partly because of the oneness in the camp and also the incentives that they have been getting from the government.
Everyone here is motivated and happy. They are eager to make history,” said Mpandare
The government through the SRC have availed a budget of US$1 million to cater for the Warriors’ preparations in Cameroon.
“When we planned our preparations, we thought that it was going to be difficult to have a good camp
But the support that we are getting from the government is on point, ” said Mpandare
In 2017 the Warriors under the guidance of the country’s football Federation (ZIFA) was hit by player strike days before the tournament, an impasse which resulted in the team spurning the send off dinner attended by the country’s vice-president over allowance and bonus row.
They finished the tournament with only a point from their three games.
The Warriors then crushed out of 2019 AFCON in the group stages once again – finishing the tournament at the bottom of the group, again with no win after another energy sucking bonus feud with the Association.
The Warriors threatened to boycott the tournament a day before kick-off over unpaid allowances by the Association.
But, the situation is different this time around, there is good organisation and unity of purpose in the camp- even the team’s social media pages are constantly giving an update on the team in a manner they’ve never done before – something which is so refreshing considering the chaos and disunity of 2017 and 2019 finals.
The players and officials have been getting their dues on time, with some of the money being paid in cash.
The money include Appearance and match fees.
The Warriors took their first training session yesterday afternoon after arriving in Bafoussam, their group B base for the next two games before returning to Yaounde to face Guinea at Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium on the 18th of January.
Jordan Zemura is the only player still to join camp and is expected this weekend.
