Marked for Oumar Doungous
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market27 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match27 Dec 2027
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match25 Dec 2027
Elect Sport left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 5.62, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Market27 Dec 2027
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee US Moursal could ask drops and the wages Abdoulaye Mbainaissem can ask rise.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Dec 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.
Market20 Dec 2027
Only the photograph left for Idriss Ndoram
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idriss Ndoram will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad20 Dec 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Marked 7.44 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, US Moursal had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Narcisse Bechir, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Dec 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match11 Dec 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Aiglons defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
5.46 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
A mark of 5.55 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Market13 Dec 2027
The name of Ali Souleymane keeps appearing in other people's back pages. US Moursal say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Dec 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oumar Doungous and US Moursal agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Dec 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 Dec 2027
0‑1 to AS Etat Major, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“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.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Marked 5.43, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
A mark of 5.45 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Nov 2027
7 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market29 Nov 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Match27 Nov 2027
A 2‑1 win over AS Algoy, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
“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 US Moursal, and 6 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.
Match13 Nov 2027
It needed Saleh Tokindang to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Renaissance, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“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.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brahim Mbaiguedem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market15 Nov 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what US Moursal could get for him.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and US Moursal had a different afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Nov 2027
A 1‑0 win over Galactik, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market8 Nov 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.
Squad8 Nov 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match6 Nov 2027
AS DGSSIE left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“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.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
A mark of 7.95, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Market8 Nov 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad8 Nov 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Nov 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
The wait goes on for US Moursal
4 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.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Brahim Mbaiguedem 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
0‑1 to AS PSI, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Narcisse Abba
“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.
Market1 Nov 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Oumar Doungous asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Marked 5.78, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market25 Oct 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market25 Oct 2027
Idriss Ndoram has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Oct 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Oct 2027
2‑3 to Galactik, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 8.19 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Saleh Mahamat and US Moursal agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A mark of 4.96 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Oct 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.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
19 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match16 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdramane Allamine and US Moursal agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Narcisse Bechir, and the manager let it.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
5.34 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Market18 Oct 2027
The clock does Oumar Doungous’s negotiating for him
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee US Moursal could ask drops and the wages Oumar Doungous can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market4 Oct 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Oct 2027
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.
Market4 Oct 2027
The shirt still fits. Mahamat Abba is back at US Moursal, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market4 Oct 2027
The shirt still fits. Saleh Mahamat is back at US Moursal, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market4 Oct 2027
The shirt still fits. Mahamat Adoum is back at US Moursal, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abdoulaye Moustapha commits to US Moursal for another 2 years.
Match2 Oct 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Narcisse Abba. 1‑0 against Gazelle, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Sep 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.
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
Pressure builds in the US Moursal boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market27 Sep 2027
Idriss Ndoram has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Moursal they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Sep 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brahim Mbaiguedem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market27 Sep 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Moursal know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Market13 Sep 2027
The Aiglons deal is off
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Narcisse Abba reports back to US Moursal with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad13 Sep 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
“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 US Moursal, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Idriss Ndoram, and the manager let it.
Market13 Sep 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at US Moursal, another week without a signature from Abdoulaye Mbainaissem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Sep 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Oumar Doungous 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Aug 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Idriss Ndoram
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Idriss Ndoram will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Abdoulaye Mbainaissem 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. US Moursal have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad9 Aug 2027
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Narcisse Abakar commits to US Moursal for another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at US Moursal
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Moursal is running low.
Squad2 Aug 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdramane Tokindang trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
US Moursal pull $7.9K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Market2 Aug 2027
US Moursal have let the market know Abdramane Tokindang can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Jun 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
“I did not go to Renaissance to sit and watch. I want to come back to US Moursal and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 20 matches say the rest.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Jun 2027
Still no offer on the table, and Oumar Doungous’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“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
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssouf Haroun will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Abdramane Tokindang 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
AS Algoy made US Moursal work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Ali Souleymane
“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.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 7.68 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, US Moursal had the best player on the pitch.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdramane Tokindang trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Defensive actions: 13, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Feb 2027
Every point is an argument now for US Moursal
Position 12 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Match30 Jan 2027
8 matches without a win for US Moursal
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around US Moursal are no longer polite ones.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Renaissance for Oumar Doungous 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
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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” US Moursal may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Abdramane Tokindang 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
AS PSI pay $2.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market1 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. US Moursal will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jan 2027
Gazelle come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and US Moursal did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market11 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to US Moursal's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at US Moursal has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Jan 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 US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“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 US Moursal, and 2 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Match9 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“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.
Market11 Jan 2027
AS DGSSIE are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. US Moursal will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Mahamat Abba
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahamat Abba will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market30 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Nov 2026
AS Algoy left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
103% of the income goes out in wages at US Moursal
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Nov 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. US Moursal have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdoulaye Oumar will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Moursal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market23 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Oumar Doungous 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Moursal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market23 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Abdramane Tokindang signs something — a contract at US Moursal or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market23 Nov 2026
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs US Moursal money.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market16 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Nov 2026
Three points for US Moursal, 1‑0 the final word against Renaissance in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
69 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch16 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 US Moursal, and 1 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Nov 2026
The cup run ends for US Moursal
0‑2 against Elect Sport, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market9 Nov 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.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 11 of the 39 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market9 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Oumar Doungous 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.
Loan watch9 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 US Moursal, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Match7 Nov 2026
0‑1 to AS DGSSIE, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ali Souleymane, and the manager let it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market26 Oct 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 US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Oumar Doungous 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 7.73 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, US Moursal had the best player on the pitch.
Match24 Oct 2026
It needed Mahamat Abba to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Galactik, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
At 15 years old, Mahamat Adoum became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 5.33, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
A 3‑1 win over Stars Jeunes Talents, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.73, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad19 Oct 2026
97 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 8.14 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch19 Oct 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 US Moursal, and 1 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Oct 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 US Moursal can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 11 of the 37 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market5 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Moursal is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Oct 2026
2‑3 to Gazelle, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
127% of the income goes out in wages at US Moursal
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oumar Doungous and US Moursal agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Narcisse Abakar 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Abdoulaye Abba is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at US Moursal has been clear about where Abdoulaye Abba stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Oumar Doungous asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 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 US Moursal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Narcisse Abakar and US Moursal agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Moursal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. US Moursal have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at US Moursal, another week without a signature from Abdoulaye Oumar.
Market3 Aug 2026
24 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.