Marked for Abdramane Allamine
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Abdramane Mbainaissem, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.77
A mark of 7.77 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market28 Dec 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ahmat Hissein 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Youssouf 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.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
The dugout28 Dec 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 1‑3 Mahamat Haroun left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Djibrine Adoum
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Youssouf Bechir 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Dec 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Idriss Oumar beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Djibrine 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Bechir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match5 Dec 2026
Elect Sport left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Youssouf Bechir, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Mahamat Haroun to a room that had heard them before.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Idriss Oumar named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Idriss Oumar is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Nov 2026
A 1‑5 beating by Foullah Edifice was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market30 Nov 2026
Brahim Djimet 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between AS Etat Major and Foullah Edifice, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Saleh Oumar 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Djibrine Mbaiguedem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Djibrine Mbaiguedem, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
0‑5 to CotonTchad, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match4 Nov 2026
AS PSI go through and AS Etat Major go home, 1‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
1-4. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 7.69 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market9 Nov 2026
Adam Mahamat 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
No end in sight to AS Etat Major's wait for a win
5 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
No clean sheets in sight for AS Etat Major
5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ahmat Hissein 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
Market2 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.86 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
No sign of nerves from Idriss Oumar at 21 — 7.76
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Idriss Oumar did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match31 Oct 2026
3‑4 to AS Algoy, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Match31 Oct 2026
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about AS Etat Major and AS Algoy in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Youssouf 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Abdramane Hissein 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 dugout2 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every AS Etat Major game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Renaissance runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Bechir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Narcisse Hissein 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.
The dugout26 Oct 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.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Galactik to sit and watch. I want to come back to AS Etat Major and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Market26 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Narcisse Souleymane signs something — a contract at AS Etat Major or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market26 Oct 2026
AS Etat Major have let the market know Djibrine Djimet can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Questions about Abdramane Allamine on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Looking ahead26 Oct 2026
Looking ahead: AS Algoy at home
A side in position 13 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑4 by Renaissance, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market19 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 AS Etat Major can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Narcisse Souleymane is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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 AS Etat Major this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 7.67, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Youssouf Bechir
“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.
Boardroom19 Oct 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
Squad5 Oct 2026
There were 10 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A brace, and Narcisse Souleymane takes the afternoon — 8.71
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Narcisse Souleymane provided it, and the 8.71 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
0 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.33 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Saleh Oumar is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Ahmat Hissein 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
1 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Match3 Oct 2026
AS DGSSIE left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ahmat Hissein and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 31 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ahmat Abakar 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.
The dugout28 Sep 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 AS Etat Major, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Aiglons come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and AS Etat Major did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
Saleh Abakar 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No thanks: Bicto Tyonga rejects the move
AS Etat Major had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Foullah Edifice, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmat Hissein and AS Etat Major agree another 2 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ahmat Hissein and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssouf Bechir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hassan Mahamat has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout10 Aug 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.