Deaths rock Cameroon Professional League

The ugly and cold hands of death have recently been snatching players of the Cameroon Professional Football League.
    The most recent victim was Leopold Oben Ngon, a player of Dynamo of Douala. Ngon died on August 22, 2015, during day 31 of the League II Championship.
    Ngon died after scoring the lone goal in the encounter pitting Dynamo of Douala against Colombe of Dja and Lobo at the Douala Reunification Stadium.
    The striker collapsed on the pitch and after receiving shoddy First Aid attention, he was rushed to the Douala General Hospital. But he died even before the ambulance arrived at the hospital.
    Ngon’s demise came barely 11 days after his teammate, Ferdinand Mbog, passed away.
    Another player who succumbed to death is David Njock Njock of Njalla Quan Sports Academy.
    Death came knocking when Njock Njock was watching from the stands as his team was being led by Apejes of Mfou at the Limbe Centenary Stadium. He slumped to the ground and died en route to the Limbe Regional Hospital.
    As soccer fans in Cameroon were still struggling to digest the mishap, death stroke again, this time claiming Alexis Dankam, a defender of UMS Loum. Dankam died in a car accident along the Yaounde-Douala highway.
    These and many other deaths have raised the issue of health care services for footballers in the various leagues in Cameroon. Medical experts and observers have accused clubs of paying little attention to the health and insurance of their players.

    “Some Presidents consider medical visits as an obstacle and not a fundamental element of recruitment and player tracking,” Dr. Ferdinand Ngoh, Sports Physician told La Nouvelle Expression.
Meanwhile, some coaches have blamed the unfortunate players for being responsible for their own deaths.
    Vassillios Esseme, Coach and Physical Trainer faulted the management of the Cameroon Professional League for negligence. According to him, many teams in Cameroon have no medical experts.
“    Also, their First Aid boxes only contain painkillers and water, which are given to players who are injured during matches or at training sessions. How can we organise matches without providing medical ambulances? The Ambulance is an essential medical device that allows a doctor to intervene effectively in cases of resuscitation and emergency. Unfortunately, there is no such equipment in our stadiums,” the football technician lamented.
    Coach Barnabas Njuku of Buea United FC believes that the recent deaths are due to “lack of medical checkup before and during competitions”.
    He also questioned the lifestyles of local footballers, some of whom do not exercise restraint in their social activities.
    “ It is as a result of poor feeding, too much work without rest, fetish beliefs which are practised in some teams by players and officials and at times the influence of drugs that result to these deaths,” coach Nicholas Asungu of University of Buea FC explained.
    In order to avoid such tragic incidents like those that have hit Cameroon soccer this year, the Cameroon Professional Football League will need to be upgraded to an acceptable standard, where medical care of players will be taken into consideration.