30 years later, Cameroonian Italia ’90 World Cup team gets promised houses

Posted by admin Headlines, NNP News, Soccer, Sports Sunday, August 9th, 2020

(NNP) The Cameroonian national team that played in the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy, has finally been given houses they were promised by the government 30 years ago. The 1990 team was the first in Africa to proceed beyond the second round to the quarter-final stage, eventually losing to England.

In the first match of the tournament, the Indomitable Lions defeated the defending champion, Argentina 1-0 in a tightly contested match. They went on to defeat Romania 2-1 and Columbia by the same margin in the Round of 16, before losing to England 3-2. No African team has exceeded this mark since with Ghana and Senegal, making it to quarter-finals in subsequent World Cup tournaments.

According to a government source, the three-decade delay was due to the fact that 44 names were submitted instead of 22 names, and the minister in charge of the project was changed and the case was no longer a priority.

However, in June, one of the players, Bertin Ebwelle, wrote a letter to President Paul Biya, who was president when the team achieved the historic feat. The president followed up with a letter to the Director of Housing to begin putting in place a process to redeem the long-awaited promise. With the promise fulfilled, players can opt for a house in Douala, Yaoundé or Limbe, a coastal city.

For three of the players, Louis Paul Mfede, Benjamin Massing and Stephen Tataw, this fulfilled promise has come too late as they have since passed on. Stephen Tataw, the captain of the Italia ’90 team, passed on in July at the age of 57 in the capital of Yaoundé, just days before the pledge was fulfilled. Roger Milla, perhaps, the most famous of all the players, thanked President Biya for what he called “Supreme Recognition.”

-Written By NewNigerianPolitics

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