Why football dominates the public debate while Cameroon faces institutional crises

The state of our nation demands a serious reflection on our collective priorities. While the Indomptable Lions have failed to secure a spot in the upcoming World Cup, the public discourse in Cameroon remains strangely fixated on the pitch. We find ourselves embroiled in endless arguments over federation politics and sports scandals, even as the country grapples with profound and urgent challenges.

In a nation where a government reshuffle has been anticipated for months without action, the focus of the people should not be monopolized by a ball.

The reality is striking. Our football, once a beacon of continental pride and a force capable of competing with the world’s elite, has become a shadow of its former self. Internal conflicts, management disputes, and a lack of proper infrastructure have left our young talents sidelined. This failure to qualify for the world stage is not an isolated event; it is a symptom of a much broader systemic malaise.

Are our national priorities in the right place?

Football is a legitimate passion and Samuel Eto’o remains a figure of immense respect for his historic career. However, the sport cannot serve as a veil that hides the critical issues facing our future. This is especially true when our national team is absent from the world’s most significant tournament.

We must look at the institutional void. While a constitutional revision created a Vice President position, the seat has remained vacant for months. We have not seen a formal Council of Ministers or a meeting of the Higher Judicial Council in years. When ministers leave their posts, they are often replaced by temporary officials who remain in limbo for extended periods. This lack of institutional regularity deserves our full attention.

The crisis of the rule of law and social reality

The integrity of our justice system is also under scrutiny. We see instances where judicial mandates are issued only to be countermanded by administrative notes, and provisional release orders are publicly dismissed as fraudulent. These threats to the State of law should be more concerning to the public than any FIFA ranking.

Beyond politics, the daily lives of Cameroonians are marked by decaying infrastructure, unfinished public projects, and unreliable access to water and electricity. With high unemployment among graduates and the rising cost of living squeezing every household, it is difficult to justify why football remains the primary topic of conversation.

Who benefits from this distraction?

Every time the national conversation shifts toward a football controversy, the most pressing economic and social concerns are pushed into the background. Intellectuals, journalists, and leaders have a duty to steer the debate toward substance rather than spectacle. We cannot afford to choose emotion over analysis when the nation’s foundations are at stake.

This is not a call to give up on sports, but a call to reorder our priorities. Once our institutions are functional, our justice system is credible, and our youth have clear employment prospects, we can talk about football as much as we like. Today, however, focusing on a sport in crisis only serves to distract us from the urgent challenges of our time.

The citizens of Cameroon deserve a public discourse that reflects the gravity of their situation. History will remember those who had the courage to address the real issues, not those who spent their time debating a tournament we are not even part of.