FECAFOOT Pays Tribute to Artur Jorge, Former Coach of Cameroon who Passed Away at 78

"FECAFOOT learned with deep emotion the passing of Arthur Jorge, former coach of the Indomitable Lions. The Portuguese coach, who had coached the Portugal national team and Paris Saint-Germain, among others, had a stint on the Cameroon team's sidelines between 2004 and 2006. Despite not qualifying for the World Cup in Germany and being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the CAN in Egypt in 2006, Artur Jorge left a positive impression in the minds of Cameroonians due to the good quality of play produced by the Lions. His passing is a significant loss to football," reacted the national football governing body on its Facebook page.

Artur Jorge was appointed as the head coach of the national football team in January 2005, replacing German Winfried Schäfer, who was dismissed three months earlier. His appointment was favorably received by the sporting community, which saw him as "the man for the job" in the face of the challenge of qualifying for both the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2006, as well as due to his European record, having won the UEFA Champions League with Porto and the French league title twice with Paris Saint-Germain.

"The mission assigned to him by the government is to qualify the Cameroon national team at the end of the return phase of the combined qualifiers for the CAN and World Cup 2006. To this end, he will have to ensure the scouting, detection, and selection of talents from the diaspora as well as from the local talent pool, in order to build a strong, united, disciplined, patriotic, and conquering group," said former Minister of Sports Philippe Mbarga Mboa at the time, outlining the Portuguese technician's roadmap.

However, Artur Jorge did not succeed in qualifying the Indomitable Lions for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Nevertheless, Cameroon qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) held in Egypt the same year. His players - including Samuel Eto'o and Rigobert Song, current president of FECAFOOT and manager-coach of Cameroon, respectively - were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ivory Coast after a penalty shootout (1-1, 11-12 penalties). One month after the CAN, the Portuguese coach announced his resignation in March 2006, after 15 months at the helm of the Indomitable Lions.