Controversy surrounds pay package of new Lion’s trainer

By Mua Patrick Mughe in Yaounde

new lion;s coach signing his juicy contract

Hugo Broos, who was last week appointed as the new Indomitable Lions’ trainer following a controversial decision by Cameroon’s football federation, FECAFOOT, has been given a two year contract.

Though the signing of the two year contract took place in Yaounde, yesterday, details of the salary package of the Belgium-born trainer remains unknown. Unconfirmed sources say Hugo Broos,63, will earn 20 million FCFA as monthly salary.

The president of the contested FECAFOOT bureau, Tombi A Roko Sidiki smartly declined to disclose the salary of the new trainer when quizzed by newsmen at Thursday’s signing ceremony.

Worth recalling that German-born Volke Finke, Hugo Broos’s immediate predecessor was earning 18milion FCFA as monthly salary and speculations are that the new coach is likely to earn an amount slightly above what Finke was receiving.

After the signing contract deal at the Yaounde multipurpose complex, FECAFOOT president, Tombi A Roko was equivocal on the salary situation of Hugo Broos but disclosed that the former Belgium international was retained for the job given that he had bargained for a lower salary which others shortlisted for the top job were not willing to accept. He said another strong point which saw Hugo Broos emerged as favourite was the fact that he had openly declared his readiness to permanently reside in Cameroon.

 It should be noted that Broos who has now been officially contracted takes over from Volker Finke who was sent-packing in October 2015, after a not-to satisfied spell with the Lions.

Alexandre Belinga who acted as interim coach with the Indomitable Lions for the past three months, is now expected to act as an assistant to the Belgian along with another former Belgian player, Sven Vandenbroeck.
Belinga manned the position of interim coach for some six months, after the sacking of German manager, Volker Finke, who left the team with nothing to show for. His sacking was precipitated by a disgraceful outing of the Indomitable Lions at the Brazil 2014 World Cup
Meantime Broos, who has coached extensively across Europe, was a surprise choice. He was not on FECAFOOT's shortlist of five, which included three Frenchmen, a Serbian and a Cameroonian.
Football analysts, who are still questioning how Broos was picked for the national team top job when his name was not among the shortlist of five, argue that inasmuch as Broos won the Belgian championship twice with Club Brugge in 1992 and 1996, he is still a bad shot.

They argue that the Belgian football manager’s glory days have been over back in the 90s when his team won the Belgian Cup in 1991, 1995, and 1996.

Broos who takes over as new trainer of the Cameroon’s national team is expected to kick start his contract by overseeing the qualification of the Lions for the upcoming 2017 AFCON.