The mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Serge Eloundou will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Fortuna Mfou will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
Maor Kandil 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.
A conversation is coming this week. Fortuna Mfou will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Samir Fekri 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.
Position 12 and 17 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Trésor Feumba and Fortuna Mfou agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
5 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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Fortuna Mfou can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Serge Eloundou again, and this time the name on the line is Unisport Bafang. Fortuna Mfou are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Fortuna Mfou can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Samir Fekri 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
Ismaël Fansu 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Marked 5.36. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samir Fekri 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Patrick Hongla has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Fortuna Mfou scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Aiman Riahi 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Samir Fekri 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Ismaël Fansu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Ismaël Fansu 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Herve Moukoudi and Fortuna Mfou agree another 3 years.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 words a physio says slowly. 18 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samir Fekri 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.
Marked 5.36. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The words a physio says slowly. 25 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 words a physio says slowly. 32 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Ismaël Fansu 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
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
PWD Bamenda go through and Fortuna Mfou go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Samir Fekri 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 words a physio says slowly. 46 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.
Ismaël Fansu 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
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Fortuna Mfou are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Joel Obi 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Léon Dilane Balomog reports back to Fortuna Mfou with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The name of Léon Dilane Balomog has come up in conversations Fortuna Mfou were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Ismaël Fansu 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Aminou Bouba has improved at 36, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Fortuna Mfou
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Solomon Nsoh has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
42 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
49 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Fortuna Mfou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWillian Pacheco falls out with a teammate over standards
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léon Dilane Balomog will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Position 14 and 14 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Fortuna Mfou can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Add another name to the list: Canon Yaounde have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kazobar Kasongo. The answer from Fortuna Mfou has not changed — yet.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Fortuna Mfou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Maor Kandil 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.
In brief
SquadSamir Fekri falls out with a teammate over standards
$150.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
He is going to Fauve Azur Elite, the club has $150.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
The offer from Aigle Royal de la Menoua for Kazobar Kasongo 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Fortuna Mfou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Ismaël Fansu from Aigle Royal de la Menoua for $170.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Quintin Stokes-Waller will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Kazobar Kasongo has come up in conversations Fortuna Mfou were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franck Bekono will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Position 14 and 14 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Fortuna Mfou can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léon Dilane Balomog will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
Add another name to the list: Unisport Bafang have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kazobar Kasongo. The answer from Fortuna Mfou has not changed — yet.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Quintin Stokes-Waller will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fortuna Mfou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Boardroom24 May 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Fortuna Mfou
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fortuna Mfou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kazobar Kasongo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
In brief
SquadMaor Kandil falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Moisés 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Fortuna Mfou can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Joel Obi 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 May 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Fortuna Mfou are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Maor Kandil 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWillian Pacheco falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Joel Obi 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
In brief
SquadThe manager has not finished forgetting Alex Mani Onguene's mistake
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Patrick Hongla has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Marc Tsala Ndi is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Fortuna Mfou, another week without a signature from Moisés.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fortuna Mfou, and both men came out saying it was fine.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Fortuna Mfou could ask drops and the wages Quintin Stokes-Waller can ask rise.
The mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
Philippe Essama 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kazobar Kasongo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
In brief
SquadWillian Pacheco falls out with a teammate over standards
Position 14 and 14 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léon Dilane Balomog will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Quintin Stokes-Waller has agreed terms with Cotonsport Garoua for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
Aliou Souleyman Hendji 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 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 mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franck Bekono will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Fortuna Mfou the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
Joel Obi 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Fortuna Mfou are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Maor Kandil 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Quintin Stokes-Waller 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.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Junior Patrick Akongo Evouna did not need any: 7.65, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Patrick Hongla has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
5 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Willian Pacheco, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Aminou Bouba's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Fortuna Mfou
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Philippe Essama 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.
Maor Kandil 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.
1 for Ignacio Nicolini, marked 7.67, 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.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.99, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Fortuna Mfou is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Franck Bekono has agreed terms with Colombe du Dja et Lobo for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Joel Obi 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 Jan 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Fortuna Mfou told Junior Patrick Akongo Evouna something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Maor Kandil 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Quintin Stokes-Waller 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.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Fortuna Mfou has been clear about where Michael Fokou stands, which is more than many ever get.
It needed Alex Mani Onguene to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Canon Yaounde, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Fortuna Mfou is running low.
At 39 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.40 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Kazobar Kasongo again, and this time the name on the line is Unisport Bafang. Fortuna Mfou are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willian Pacheco 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.
“I watch every Fortuna Mfou game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cotonsport Garoua runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Fortuna Mfou can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Fortuna Mfou will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Marked 5.20. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fortuna Mfou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Fortuna Mfou are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Philippe Essama 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Maor Kandil 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
Willian Pacheco arrives at 34 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
The mood at Fortuna Mfou 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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Solomon Nsoh, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.35
A mark of 8.35 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Philippe Essama 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
Maor Kandil 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.
At 21 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.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and 2 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Sebastian Arnaud is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Maor Kandil 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.
8.16. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael Fokou 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Solomon Nsoh's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Position 13 and 8 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 19 combined actions and a mark of 6.74, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Joel Obi 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
Maor Kandil 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Sebastian Arnaud has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
11 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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Ignacio Nicolini scored, was marked 7.23, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Fortuna Mfou game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cotonsport Garoua runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Michael Fokou 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
7.50, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fortuna Mfou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Fortuna Mfou, another week without a signature from Philippe Essama.
9 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.
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.
Philippe Essama 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.
Dynamo Douala left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Maor Kandil 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.
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
In brief
Player ratingsAn afternoon Carlitos Djapa will want back
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
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.
The terraces19 Oct 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.” 6 of the 27 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Fortuna Mfou know it.
Quintin Stokes-Waller 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Fortuna Mfou dressing room in a hurry
0‑4 to Canon Yaounde, 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Fortuna Mfou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
7 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sebastian Arnaud is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A first appearance Carlitos Djapa will want to forget — 5.57
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.57, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Joel Obi 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.
At 24 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Fortuna Mfou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Fortuna Mfou are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Fortuna Mfou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Morel Ondobo Abena is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Fauve Azur Elite? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces21 Sep 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.” 10 of the 27 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Philippe Essama 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
Maor Kandil 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.
“I watch every Fortuna Mfou game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cotonsport Garoua runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fortuna Mfou can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A first appearance Ari Tiente will want to forget — 5.75
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.75, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Quintin Stokes-Waller 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.
5 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jean Ganago has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ambroise Mabouka has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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 Fortuna Mfou, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Fortuna Mfou are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Fortuna Mfou would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Quintin Stokes-Waller has just signed for Fortuna Mfou, and for once the answer mattered.
Joel Obi 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Maor Kandil 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.
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.
Every supporter in the ground could have named the hole in this team, and most of them did, loudly, for months. Quintin Stokes-Waller has been signed to close it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Fortuna Mfou, another week without a signature from Quintin Stokes-Waller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fortuna Mfou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Fortuna Mfou have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Fortuna Mfou training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maor Kandil 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kévin Nzokou has his answer from Fortuna Mfou; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Fortuna Mfou will not keep him by pretending otherwise.