Elite One, Cameroon's football league
Cameroon's top division, called MTN Elite One since 2007 after its sponsor, has had 14 clubs since the 2025-26 season. Coton Sport of Garoua has dominated the past thirty years with 18 titles, ahead of Canon Yaoundé. Behind the honours list lies an unfinished move to professionalism: seasons interrupted or starting late, a professional league dissolved in 2022 and wages often unpaid. This page sets out the facts, with dated figures.
Information checked on
At a glance
- Commercial name
- MTN Elite One (since 2007)
- Organiser
- FECAFOOT (since the LFPC was dissolved in 2022)
- Clubs
- 14 (2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons)
- Most successful club
- Coton Sport Garoua, 18 titles
- Current champions
- Colombe du Dja et Lobo (2024-25 and 2025-26)
- Second tier
- MTN Elite Two (16 clubs in 2025-26)
A history that predates independence
According to the RSSSF, the first clubs were founded in Douala after the First World War, encouraged by the teacher Charles Lalanne, and a territorial championship existed from 1933, dominated by Caïman Douala. The national league began with independence, and Oryx Douala won the first editions. Until May 1972, francophone East Cameroon and anglophone West Cameroon each had their own league, and only the winner of the former is counted as national champion. It took until 2009 and Tiko United for an anglophone club to win the title.
The 1970s and 1980s belonged to the Yaoundé and Douala clubs (Canon, Tonnerre, Union), which also shone in Africa. Since 1997 Coton Sport of Garoua has won 18 of the 30 titles awarded. Recent seasons have brought new champions: UMS de Loum (2016, 2019), Eding Sport de la Lékié (2017), PWD Bamenda (2020), Victoria United of Limbe (2024) and Colombe du Dja et Lobo of Sangmélima (2025, 2026).
Honours
| Club | City | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Coton Sport | Garoua | 18 |
| Canon Sportif | Yaoundé | 10 |
| Oryx | Douala | 5 |
| Tonnerre Kalara Club | Yaoundé | 5 |
| Union Sportive | Douala | 5 |
| Racing Club | Bafoussam | 4 |
| Caïman | Douala | 3 |
| Aigle Royal, Colombe du Dja et Lobo, Léopard, UMS de Loum | Nkongsamba, Sangmélima, Douala, Loum | 2 each |
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Coton Sport (Garoua) |
| 2019 | UMS de Loum |
| 2019-20 | PWD Bamenda (season halted by Covid-19) |
| 2020-21 | Coton Sport |
| 2021-22 | Coton Sport |
| 2022-23 | Coton Sport |
| 2023-24 | Victoria United (Limbe) |
| 2024-25 | Colombe du Dja et Lobo (Sangmélima) |
| 2025-26 | Colombe du Dja et Lobo, ahead of Dynamo Douala |
The current format: 14 clubs in a single table
The number of clubs has varied widely. In 2022-23 FECAFOOT announced 22 clubs split into two groups of 11. In January 2025 the sports ministry counted 16 clubs in Elite One and 17 in Elite Two. The 2025-26 season was the first with 14 clubs in a single table: 26 rounds from 24 January to 10 June 2026. Its late start, at the municipal stadium in Bafang, followed more than six months of talks between FECAFOOT and the clubs, according to Cameroon Tribune.
- The winner is champion and qualifies for the CAF Champions League; the Cameroon Cup winner goes into the Confederation Cup.
- The 14th-placed club goes down to Elite Two; the 13th plays a play-off against the Elite Two runners-up.
- At the end of 2025-26 AS Fortuna and Fauve Azur were relegated; US Abong-Mbang and APEJES de Mfou came up for 2026-27.
- The 2026-27 season kicked off on 17 October 2026 and is due to end on 16 May 2027.
Elite Two, the second tier, had 16 clubs in 2025-26, split into two groups of eight followed by promotion and relegation play-offs; Samuel Eto'o's stated aim was to cut it to 12 clubs. Aigle Royal de la Menoua (Dschang) won it in 2025.
The Cameroon Cup
The Cameroon Cup was the only competition that brought francophone and anglophone clubs together before 1972. Since independence Canon Yaoundé have won it 11 times, Coton Sport 7, Union Douala 6, and Tonnerre and Lion of Yaoundé 4 each (RSSSF). The 2020 edition was abandoned.
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Stade Renard de Melong | 3-2 | AS FAP (Yaoundé) |
| 2021 | PWD Bamenda | 1-0 | Les Astres (Douala) |
| 2022 | Coton Sport | 1-0 | Bamboutos (Mbouda) |
| 2023 | Fovu (Baham) | 2-0 | PWD Bamenda |
| 2024 | Colombe du Dja et Lobo | 1-0 | Aigle Royal de la Menoua |
| 2025 | Panthère du Ndé (Bangangté) | 1-1 (3-1 on penalties) | Colombe du Dja et Lobo |
From the LFPC to FECAFOOT: who runs the league?
Set up in 2010 under FECAFOOT's authority and chaired by General Pierre Semengue, the Cameroon Professional Football League (LFPC) took over Elite One and Elite Two. MTN's withdrawal in 2013 deprived it of its main backer, leading to interrupted seasons, long breaks for lack of money and reliance on state subsidies. MTN returned on 11 May 2017 with a 3-billion-CFA-franc partnership over three years.
After years of conflict with the federation, the LFPC was dissolved by FECAFOOT's general assembly in Douala on 27 August 2022, according to Cameroon Tribune. Since then the federation has run the professional leagues directly, with a Transitional Council for Professional Football (CTFP) handling matters such as stadium approval. In Cameroon Tribune's view, these repeated crises have kept Cameroonian football from turning professional beyond rhetoric: turning clubs into companies, building training grounds and paying players regularly are still to be done.
Money, prizes and player wages
| Item | Amount | Date and source |
|---|---|---|
| FECAFOOT grant per Elite One club | 48 million CFA francs (up from 23 million) | Announced August 2022 |
| Champion's prize | 50 million CFA francs, plus 50 million for the Champions League | Announced August 2022 |
| Grant for U15 and U17 teams | 5 million CFA francs per club | Announced August 2022 |
| State subsidy for wages | 560 million CFA francs (2/3 Elite One, 1/3 Elite Two) | Sports ministry, 2024-25 season |
| Minimum Elite One player wage | 200,000 CFA francs a month | FECAFOOT requirement, 2026 |
| Minimum Elite Two player wage | 75,000 CFA francs a month | FECAFOOT requirement, 2026 |
| Minimum head coach wage | 250,000 CFA francs (Elite One), 150,000 (Elite Two) | FECAFOOT requirement, 2026 |
The gap between these scales and reality is wide. According to the professional footballers' union, quoted by Le360 Afrique in September 2026, the average wage payment rate in Elite One was just 49%: about 6 clubs out of 14 were paying their players. The state subsidy of January 2025 was earmarked for wages, with professional players checked by the national footballers' association (ANFC). The amount MTN currently pays each year is not published in the sources consulted. To compare with pay in general, see the page on the minimum wage.
Frequently asked questions
Which club has won the most Cameroonian league titles?
Coton Sport of Garoua, with 18 titles, all won since 1997. Canon Yaoundé follow with 10 (RSSSF, 2026).
Who are the 2026 Cameroonian champions?
Colombe du Dja et Lobo of Sangmélima, who retained the title won in 2024-25. Dynamo Douala finished second in 2025-26.
How many clubs are in Elite One?
14 clubs since the 2025-26 season, in a single table of 26 rounds. The bottom club goes down and the 13th plays a play-off.
How much does an Elite One player earn in Cameroon?
FECAFOOT sets a minimum of 200,000 CFA francs a month in Elite One and 75,000 in Elite Two (2026). In practice, the players' union put the payment rate at 49%.
Does the LFPC still exist?
No. The Cameroon Professional Football League was dissolved by FECAFOOT on 27 August 2022; the federation has run Elite One and Elite Two since.
Who won the 2025 Cameroon Cup?
Panthère du Ndé of Bangangté, on penalties (1-1, 3-1) against Colombe du Dja et Lobo.
Handle with care
The founding date of the national league varies: 1960 in the RSSSF list, 1961 on Wikipedia. The English Wikipedia page on Elite One is flagged as partly AI-written, so figures were taken from the RSSSF and the press. Pay and subsidy scales are announcements; whether they are applied cannot be checked online.