Apprehension feared in NW as FECAFOOT terminates Bamenda Stadium Construction

Anxiety has gripped soccer fans in the city of Bamenda in the North West Region of Cameroon, following reports that the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) has terminated the partnership agreement signed with a US-based company, Prime Potomac; that was charged with the responsibility of constructing the Bamenda Olympic Stadium.

This information was brought to the fore after FECAFOOT’s Executive Committee meeting in Yaounde, on Friday, July 14.

One of the resolutions adopted was the termination of the partnership agreement with Prime Potomac for the construction of the 2,500 capacity stadiums in Bamenda.

Other stadia that were being constructed by the same company as a result of the FECAFOOT Partnership accord included:  Bagangté in the West, Bafia in the Centre and Sangmélima in the South Regions, all too have been cancelled.

Meanwhile, FECAFOOT did not give any reasons for the termination of the partnership agreement and what will become the fate of these stadia.

The foundation stone for the construction of the Bamenda Olympic Stadium was laid on April 20, 2016, by the Governor of the Northwest Region, Adolph LeleL’Afrique in the presence of FECAFOOT President, Tombi A Roko Sidiki.

But work did not effectively began until in May 2017, when during the AFCON trophy tour in Bamenda in January 2017, the population confronted Tombi A Roko on the project.

The FECAFOOT President then took an oath that the stadium will be completed and handed over to the population in six months, since he said, the construction materials were already at the Douala Sea Port.

Instead of the completion phase as stipulated by the FECAFOOT President, construction works only started in May.

However, after the termination of the contract, many people feared that the soccer frenzy population of Bamenda my go on a rampage, after they had bitterly complained of marginalisation that the 2,500 capacity stadium could not meet the demands of the population.

According to fans, when Yong Sport Academy are playing, the population that throng the field are always more than the 2,500 capacity that the Government was constructing in the city.

They also complained that such a stadium cannot host an international match, as such; it can best serve only as a training pitch.

With the termination of the project, rumour mills are already grinding that FECAFOOT should immediately engage a new contractor to commence work on the stadium before the population goes amok.