- Members of Cameroon national volleyball team, including captain Awal Said Ahmed Mbutngam and international Steve Boyomo, have publicly voiced their distress over unpaid bonuses following the CAVB Cairo 2023 African Nations Men’s Volleyball Championship
- The situation has escalated to public appeals as the players assert their right to claim what is owed to them
- The federation through its communication manager claims it’s the responsibility of the state with a portion already sorted
Cameroon’s men’s volleyball team’s struggle for their rightful bonuses has come to light, with captain Awal Said Ahmed Mbutngam and prominent player Steve Boyomo leading the charge.
After representing the country with pride and securing a fourth-place finish at the CAVB Cairo 2023 African Nations Men’s Volleyball Championship, the team has yet to receive the bonuses promised to them.
Captain Awal Said emphasized on his facebook account that their actions are not politically motivated but are driven by a desire for fairness and justice.
The team has exhausted all channels of communication, only to be met with silence, leading them to take their grievances public. The players have been patient, but the fear of being labeled as troublemakers is outweighed by their commitment to doing what is “right.”
On his account he wrote; “Anyone who denounces injustice in our society is always badly seen.” We know some will take this post and that of my teammates to resolve their problems.
“Our goal is neither to create problems nor to do politics. We are using the only channel offered to us, because it’s been nine months since the communication has been cut between us and the administration.”
Steve Boyomo, a central figure in the team and a gold medalist at the Rabat 2019 African Games, has echoed these sentiments. He first made the distress call on facebook highlighting the unprecedented nature of the situation, as he has never before experienced such a delay in receiving bonuses.
“There is no reason to be afraid to claim what is rightfully yours. The situation lasted long enough and I decided to break the silence. 9 months after participation in the Egypt CAN 2023, as of today, we have still not received the bonuses and worse still no news from the federation which has not communicated anything about it. We have been patient until now, the situation is very worrying. Something that has never happened in volleyball for years. We would just like to get our bonuses back. Sincerely.” The Cameroonian international called out the federation.
Another player Ivan Kody has also added his voice using his social media platform;
“We have a lot of potential in volleyball in Cameroon, but unfortunately our beautiful sport is dying and each of us is here for something.The claims we have made about our participation bonuses in the CAN (cairo) 2023 are real and effective for over nine months.
“We have completed practically three months internship + competition without money and without complaining.This situation has motivated most of us to reject the call and selection for the 2024 African games.
“We find it a pity that we can’t achieve the achievements we do abroad at home because of various problems that undermine the Cameroonian sporting environment and volleyball in particular.”
“Hoping that a solution can be found, we remember the beautiful days of our discipline and hope for a bright future,” He explained.
In response to this outing, the communications manager of the federation has apportioned blames on the ministry of sports, stating part of the bonuses have been paid.
“The responsibility for the payment of bonuses falls solely on the Ministry of Sports, particularly during competitions of national significance. What is at issue is not the entire sum of the bonuses but rather an outstanding balance. This is because the Federation took it upon itself to engage with service providers for the advance funding of a portion of these bonuses, and it is this remaining balance that presents a challenge today,” Christian Tchami told french media RFI.
Tchami also highlighted several federations awaiting payment from the state , like the national handball team and the U20 lionesses who are yet to receive their different bonuses.
Copyright©2024 kick442.com-Cameroon
All rights reserved. This material and any other digital content on this platform may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, written, or distributed in full or in part, without written permission from our management.
This site is not responsible for the content displayed by external sites