After the interruption of the first “Amputee Football League” competition while the Nkamanyi Amputee team was already on the pitch in Yaoundé, about to take on Terminators AFC of Yaoundé, we have had to do an internal reflection and evaluation about our further participation. While it is unclear to us how the competition is scheduled and covered, we realize there are a couple of things that need to be put in place before we continue the games. We know it is a tough decision for all concerned, but we cannot hurry into this.

It is important to our public and all stakeholders to understand what we stand for and what not. Our aim is not to just win games. Our aim is not to be the best team. Our aim is not to attend great competitions. We are not in a rush. Our aim is to empower kids /youths through football. We want to use football as a means of empowering the amputees to be able to enjoy a normal life. We have already talked to the players and know how they intend to see their future. What we are doing now is evaluating and developing plans to see how we can support them. It takes time, but we are committed. We want to concentrate our efforts on that.

From the side of the organizers, we think, amongst other things, there needs to be clarity about the fixtures of the games and their locations so that we can be confident of the schedule, representation and costs and be able to plan the season. The decision on the 16th of November to schedule two back-to-back games on November 28 and 29 in Douala and not in the order previously planned home and away games as from January does not instill that confidence and consideration of the participants and caused a rethink of our participation. Moreover, thinking about the safety, security and health of our players, neither the organizers nor our team have the capability or insurance to assure these . We believe the health and safety of these handicapped athletes has to be a priority to all stakeholders. To this end, we would like to concentrate our efforts in doing our part in making the conditions suitable for our players to play and therefore cannot take part in the games scheduled for the weekend.

We shall only continue the competition when the above-mentioned conditions are settled, and we are certain about game schedules and the security of our players.