Marked for Philippe Essama
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Nov 2026
7 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Antonio Théa goes up and wins it — 7.38
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.38 for the rest of it.
Market9 Nov 2026
Marc Tsala Ndi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Fortuna Mfou they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Jerzino and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Jerzino
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Michel Choupo-Moting left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Fortuna Mfou told Casimis Fokou something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Joseph Zene Zobo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Oct 2026
A 2‑1 win over Panthere du Nde, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match14 Oct 2026
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Fortuna Mfou scored in the 109th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Fortuna Mfou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.19, and nobody on the pitch better.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Fortuna Mfou — 7.41
1 for Antonio Théa, marked 7.41, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad19 Oct 2026
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ryan Pharel Kouam and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Fortuna Mfou have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The clubs have shaken hands with Colombe du Dja et Lobo; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything was agreed with Canon Yaounde and then the doctor spoke. Fortuna Mfou have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Philippe Essama and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Colombe du Dja et Lobo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Pharel Kouam is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aliou Souleyman Hendji and Fortuna Mfou agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Jerzino was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Aminou Bouba has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Fortuna Mfou know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Market3 Aug 2026
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Michel Mbeleck is in the works
Fortuna Mfou have made the call to Colombe du Dja et Lobo. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Stéphane Bekolo is in the works
Fortuna Mfou have made the call to Canon Yaounde. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Panthere du Nde: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Carlitos Djapa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.