Major competitions hosted by Cameroon

Timeline

The 1972 AFCON, the first

From 23 February to 5 March 1972, eight teams met in Yaoundé (Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium) and Douala (Reunification Stadium). Beaten 1-0 in the semi-final by eventual winners Congo, the Indomitable Lions took consolation by beating Zaire 5-2 in the third-place match. Congo won the final 3-2 against Mali for their first continental title; Mali's Fantamady Keita was top scorer with five goals.

The 2019 AFCON taken away from Cameroon

Cameroon was awarded the 2019 AFCON on 20 September 2014. On 30 November 2018 CAF took it away, citing delays in delivering the infrastructure, the Boko Haram insurgency and the Anglophone crisis. It was the first AFCON enlarged from 16 to 24 teams, which made the hosting requirements heavier. Egypt, chosen on 8 January 2019, staged it from 21 June to 19 July 2019; Cameroon was given the 2021 edition instead.

The 2020 CHAN, played in 2021

The African Nations Championship (CHAN), open only to players based in their domestic league, was due to be held in Cameroon in April 2020. Postponed on 17 March 2020 because of Covid-19, it was eventually played from 16 January to 7 February 2021, with 16 teams, at four stadiums: Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé, Japoma and Reunification in Douala, and Limbe. Morocco beat Mali 2-0 in the final to become the first team to retain the title. Hosts Cameroon finished fourth after losing the third-place match to Guinea.

The 2021 AFCON, played in 2022

First planned for June-July 2021, then rescheduled because of the climate and pushed back again by Covid-19, the 33rd AFCON was played from 9 January to 6 February 2022. Twenty-four teams, 52 matches and 100 goals: Senegal won their first title, beating Egypt on penalties (0-0, 4-2) at Olembe Stadium. Cameroon, knocked out in the semi-final by Egypt on penalties (0-0, 1-3), took third place by beating Burkina Faso on penalties (3-3, 5-3). Vincent Aboubakar was top scorer with eight goals. The mascot was a lion called Mola.

On 24 January 2022, before the Cameroon v Comoros round-of-16 match (2-1) at Olembe Stadium, a crush broke out at the south entrance: fans directed towards a locked gate surged in when it was opened. Eight people died and 38 were injured, seven of them critically. The match went ahead regardless. President Paul Biya ordered an inquiry; sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi called the decision to open the gate 'reckless'. The quarter-final scheduled at Olembe was moved to the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, before CAF lifted the stadium's suspension; it went on to host Cameroon's semi-final and the final. Crowds were capped at 80% and spectators had to be vaccinated and tested for Covid-19.

Women's sport in the spotlight

From 19 November to 3 December 2016 the Women's AFCON was played in Yaoundé and Limbe. The Indomitable Lionesses reached the final, losing 1-0 to Nigeria to a Desire Oparanozie goal in the 86th minute. In volleyball, Cameroon's women won the first of three straight continental titles (2017, 2019, 2021) in Yaoundé in 2017; at home again in 2023 they finished third, behind Kenya and Egypt.

Yaoundé has hosted two Women's AfroBaskets: in 2015 Cameroon lost the final 81-66 to Senegal; in 2021 they took bronze by beating Senegal 53-49, with Nigeria crowned champions, at the Multipurpose Sports Complex. The same arena staged the Women's African Handball Championship in June 2021, with Cameroon losing the final 25-15 to Angola. By contrast, the sources consulted show no men's AfroBasket, nor any men's African volleyball or handball championship, ever held in Cameroon.

Cycling: Tour du Cameroun and Grand Prix Chantal Biya

The Tour du Cameroun, a stage race revived in 2003 (a first edition had been held in 1965), has been on the UCI Africa Tour calendar as a 2.2 event since 2005. It was not held in 2013 and was cancelled in 2020. The 22nd edition, in June 2026, finished on 14 June with a Mbalmayo-Yaoundé stage; Cameroon's Rodrigue Kuéré Nounawé won it, 30 seconds ahead of Germany's Léo Charrois, having also won the opening stage in Maroua. Clovis Kamzong is the most successful Cameroonian, with three wins (2015, 2021, 2024).

The Grand Prix Chantal Biya, named after the head of state's wife, was created in 2001 and joined the UCI Africa Tour in 2006. Four Cameroonians share five wins between them: Flaubert Douanla (2006), Martinien Tega (2010), Yves Ngue Ngock (2011, 2013) and Clovis Kamzong (2017). Recent editions have gone to foreign riders, including Algeria's Hamza Amari in 2026, ahead of Clovis Kamzong.

What about the Central African Games?

The Central African Games were held only three times, in Libreville (1976), Luanda (1981) and Brazzaville (1987), and Cameroon never hosted them. Yaoundé did, however, stage the second Tropics Cup Games in 1964, regarded as their forerunner.

Frequently asked questions