Cameroon players refuse to fly to Brazil over pay dispute
The Indomitable Lions are demanding more financial compensation, and have refused to board a plane to take the team to Brazil.
The Indomitable Lions are scheduled to begin group stage play on Friday against Mexico, but their status is now up in the air thanks to this latest dispute.
The team were supposed to board a plane on Sunday, but the players would not board the aircraft, instead choosing to remain in their hotel. According to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, the players are upset over the bonus money being offered by the Cameroon FA.
It’s been a rocky qualifying campaign for Cameroon as they nearly missed out on the World Cup entirely after the team was suspended from international competition by FIFA over charges of governmental interference. The issue was resolved, but there are allegations that the team nearly went of strike before the start of camp two weeks ago, but decided to wait.
This is not the first time Cameroon players have balked over money disputes before a World Cup. There were reported disagreements over money before both the 1994 and 2002 tournaments, and while the issues were resolved, the team failed to make it out of the group stages in either year.
