Teams are beginning to choose their training grounds. As the count down to the 2010 Orange Africa Cup of Nations draws nigh, the teams involved are beginning to brace up for the competition. Cameroon, Tunisia, Gabon and Togo have already chosen their training grounds ahead of the competition. Cameroon will train in Kenya; Tunisia will train in the United Arab Emirates, Gabon in South Africa
and Togo in Congo. Though the detail training programme of the Indomitable Lions hasn??t been made public, the secretary general of Fecafoot says the Lions will be training in Kenya. This follows an inspection visit to Rwanda and Kenya to see which country offers the best facilities for training for the Lions. Teach Coach, Paul Le Guen, who had his contract prolonged by Cameroonian football authorities, will be relying on the same players that brought glory to Cameroon by qualifying the country for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, though he may inject some new blood. Paul Le Guen has repeatedly said, the main objective of the Lions is the World Cup and that the African cup of nations will serve as preparation or a yard stick of Cameroon??s performance at the World Cup. Cameroon was dawn in Group D alongside their toughest challengers in the qualifiers for the World Cup, Gabon, Tunisia and Zambia. Cameroon??s opponents at the group stage of the competition, Gabon and Tunisia, have also chosen their training. While the Panthers of Gabon will stay in South Africa from December 30 to January 9, 2009, Tunisia will paradoxically be training in Abou Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for nine days and will play a friendly against the Pharaohs of Egypt. Togo on the other hand, has already released a detail training programme up to the kick off of the competition next December 10, 2009. The full complement of the team are expected to gather in the Congolese city of Point-Noire on December 27 for the training camp which will last till January 8 next year. The Hawks are also scheduled to test their strength against the Congolese national team and local champions, Diables Noirs. Officials of the team are also in talks with their Malawian counterparts for the final preparatory game ahead of the 27th edition of the biennial soccer showpiece event. Meanwhile, the local component of the team will resume camping on December 19 in Lome, the capital. The Hawks, who will be making their seventh appearance at the tournament, are housed in Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Cote d??Ivoire and Ghana.
Fred VUBEM, CT