Yaounde, Cameroon:

Zacharie Noah, father of Yannick Noah dies at 79

Another legendary figure in sports in Cameroon has quit the stage. Zacharie Noah, father of erstwhile Franco-Cameroonian tennis star Yannich Noah, kicked the bucket in Yaounde on Sunday. He was aged 79.

                "My father Zacharie left us peacefully this morning in his sleep," wrote Yannick Noah on his facebook page, adding that “Zacharie was surrounded by his entire family at the time he passed on”.

                Zacharie Noah played professional football in France in the late fifties and early sixties. He plied his trade in Leaque-1 clubs like Paris Saint Germaine and Sedan. Zacharie was said to be the first African to lift the coveted French football cup.

                Back home he joined the coaching staff of the indomitable lions’ squad that won the first African Cup of Nations trophy in 1984.

                Noah transformed his vast family compound in the Etoudi neighbourhood into a training camp for lawn tennis and basketball.  His grand son Joachim Noah is a star basketball player in the USA.

                The Noah's are fond of walking bare feet. Zacharie used to take many by surprise when he storms cabarets and night clubs in Yaounde bare footed to amuse himself.