Marked for Abdramane Mahamat
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
18 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
The mood at AS Etat Major has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Youssouf Abba
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at AS Etat Major
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Match30 Jan 2027
A 0‑4 beating by CotonTchad was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market1 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AS Etat Major, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Renaissance for Abdramane Mahamat was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Jan 2027
3 matches without a goal for AS Etat Major
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Youssouf Abba
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Youssouf Abba 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Business is business: Idriss Bechir goes
Galactik paid $18.0K and AS Etat Major took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market18 Jan 2027
Abdramane Adoum has left for Galactik in a $13.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Jan 2027
14 matches without a win for AS Etat Major
The run now stands at 14, and the questions being asked around AS Etat Major are no longer polite ones.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Youssouf Abba
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
The mood at AS Etat Major has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at AS Etat Major
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market4 Jan 2027
The offer from Gazelle for Abdramane Mahamat was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Youssouf Abba 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Ezechiel Oumar has come up in conversations AS Etat Major were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Youssouf Abba
56 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AS Etat Major lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match19 Dec 2026
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 22 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Dec 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Adam Bechir: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AS Etat Major have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market21 Dec 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Etat Major they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match19 Dec 2026
0‑1 to Galactik, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Nobody could get near Issa Adoum
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Chances created: 5. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 36 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match5 Dec 2026
1‑8 against US Moursal, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match5 Dec 2026
10 matches without a win for AS Etat Major
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around AS Etat Major are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmat Souleymane and AS Etat Major agree another 2 years.
Match5 Dec 2026
AS Etat Major are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match5 Dec 2026
Issa Adoum among the goals in a wild afternoon
9 goals in one match, Issa Adoum on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of AS Etat Major and US Moursal.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Issa Adoum 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.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the AS Etat Major dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match21 Nov 2026
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market23 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Etat Major is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Youssouf Abba 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
1‑2 to Elect Sport, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Hassan Bechir 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.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at AS Etat Major, and 5 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Oumar Bechir gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 64 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ahmat Souleymane: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match4 Nov 2026
AS PSI are out and AS Etat Major go through, 1‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A one-man rearguard from Marius Abba
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match7 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win for AS Etat Major
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around AS Etat Major are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Djibrine Ngaradoumbe scored, was marked 7.13, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market9 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AS Etat Major, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Youssouf Abba 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 71 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Djibrine Abba damages knee ligaments — 16 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match31 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑4 by CotonTchad, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match31 Oct 2026
No end in sight to AS Etat Major's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AS Etat Major has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Issa Adoum in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 78 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Djibrine Abba damages knee ligaments — 23 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match24 Oct 2026
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with AS Algoy the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that AS Etat Major will enjoy reviewing.
Market26 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AS Etat Major they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Issa Adoum 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
AS Algoy left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ezechiel Mahamat 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at AS Etat Major.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 106 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AS Etat Major is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Abdramane Mahamat has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Djibrine Ngaradoumbe is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Youssouf Abba 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 120 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Market14 Sep 2026
The offer from AS Algoy for Abdramane Adoum was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market14 Sep 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Idriss Bechir reports back to AS Etat Major with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Issa Adoum 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 127 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Abdoulaye Abba damages knee ligaments — 16 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market7 Sep 2026
Idriss Bechir hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
The deal that would have taken Abdramane Mahamat to Foullah Edifice has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to AS Etat Major with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad7 Sep 2026
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Idriss Bechir is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
A fracture rules Brahim Youssouf out for 134 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AS Etat Major will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Abdoulaye Abba damages knee ligaments — 23 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Djibrine Ngaradoumbe is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Issa Adoum 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.