Feature: As Cameroon prepares for AFCON, Chinese-built stadiums revive football, businesses

Football player Rientes Njie Tanyu trains at Bafoussam Omnisport Stadium in Bafoussam, the West Region, Cameroon, on Nov. 18, 2021. (Photo by Kepseu/Xinhua)

YAOUNDE, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- As a teenager, Rientes Njie Tanyu developed his ability to skillfully juggle a football on an uneven dirt and dusty pitch in his Cameroonian village, dreaming of someday playing for Manchester United. But so bad was the pitch that he almost sustained a life-threatening injury when he hit his leg against a stone while playing football.

In 2014, a team of Chinese engineers arrived in the country and set out to construct a world-class stadium in the West Region, hundreds of miles away from Tanyu's village, Nkambe in the Northwest Region. In less than two years, the stadium, now named Bafoussam Omnisport Stadium was completed.

Marveled by the stunning football infrastructure, Tanyu made up his mind to relocate to the town of Bafoussam, the chief town of the West Region where the stadium is located to pursue his childhood dream. Now, the 23-year-old Tanyu and his fellow football player, Daniel Kohnguh Tata are already in a practice session in the stadium.

"This type of stadium encourages me a lot and I believe that if we had such a stadium in my village Nkambe, we would have been very far today and we would have had good players like Samuel Eto'o and Roger Miller but we could not make it due to the nature of the fields," Tanyu said.

"As a good footballer, this type of stadium really encourages us to play. When you find yourself in such a stadium, you just find yourself playing without being told to," said the 22-year-old Tata looking around in awe at the gleaming stadium.

Constructed on a surface area of 20 hectares, the stadium is of top standard, said Max Kinkeu, coordinator of the stadium. "When you look at the architectural structure you are satisfied. So we are more than satisfied because at first, we did not even have such a stadium," Kinkeu said, stressing that the work done by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) was near perfect.

"The construction techniques, seed quality of the playground, drainage, and finished surface gradient are strictly in accordance with CAF and FIFA standards," said 34-year-old Chinese engineer, Qian Yuan who was hired by CMEC with other Chinese nationals to construct the stadium.

CMEC handed over the stadium to the Cameroonian government in 2016. In 2014, the Chinese firm also completed the construction of Limbe Municipal Stadium in the seaside resort town of Limbe in Cameroon's Southwest Region. Cameroon will host Africa's biggest biennial football competition, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from January 9 to February 6 next year, and some of the crucial matches are expected to be played at the stadiums.

"Many African countries have not had the opportunity to have such stadiums in their countries. Those that will be coming to Cameroon to play the African Nations Cup will be very happy to find themselves in such a stadium," said Tata.

"Limbe and Bafoussam stadiums are our very first stadium projects. With 20,000 seats each, the two buildings are one of the most modern stadiums in Cameroon. From construction to operation, they have been praised by the government and the people and have become local landmarks," said Wang Lening, Project Manager of CMEC.

BUSINESSES GROW AROUND STADIUMS

When the Chinese engineers in collaboration with local workers constructed the stadium in Bafoussam, they had no idea it was going to serve more than just sports - it turned out to be a life-changer for communities and individuals like Justine Messa.

Messa had a difficult life raising her three kids without their father who died after a protracted illness. When Cameroonian authorities inaugurated the construction of the stadium, she decided to open a restaurant and named it Grace Divine.

"I started this place because in the past, the stadium was under construction and people were in need of what to eat. The Chinese were eating and drinking here," the 40-year-old told Xinhua, standing akimbo in front of her restaurant situated a few meters opposite the stadium.

The profit obtained from the sale of food and drinks rekindled her ambition to do business and now she hopes to make more money during AFCON. "As we await AFCON we hope that it will revive this area and when strangers come, we will welcome them and we will make money," she said.

According to the governor of West Region, Augustine Awa Fonka, the Chinese-built stadium has a very big impact on the socio-political and economic life of this region, having generated employment opportunities for a good number of Cameroonians. "Today the West Region is a touristic destination," Fonka told Xinhua in his office in Bafoussam.

SKILLS TRANSFER

If there is anything that the Cameroonian government benefitted eternally from the construction of the stadium, it was the skills transferred from Chinese engineers to Cameroonian engineers, Fonka said.

"The execution of that project was a transfer of technology because they gave the opportunity to the Cameroon government especially the ministry of sports to put at their disposal 10 Cameroonian civil servants who worked with them to be able to acquaint themselves with the technical know-how of the project and be able to continue its management when they would have left," Fonka said.

To Wang Hongbo, one of the CMEC engineers, the work relationship with local workers was pleasant. "During the implementation of the project, we have taught our Cameroonian counterparts some techniques, such as equipment use and maintenance, lawn maintenance, lighthouse operation, and maintenance, and electrical room management," Wang said.

When Tanyu learned that the stadium was executed by Chinese engineers, he was amazed and thought highly of China. "I thank the Chinese for this great job. This stadium encourages me and also my junior ones in the village when they hear that I play in such a wonderful stadium constructed by the Chinese," Tanyu said.

Fonka said the stadium was a testament to the friendly relationship between Cameroon and China. "When they (Chinese engineers) come into a region like the West Region, which is basically agricultural, they are very humble and down to earth and they make the population understand that they are together, that there is no class difference as you will find with other business companies or with some other nations," Fonka said.

"I think the future relationship between China and Cameroon is a bright one and of course they make you understand that they are open, that their technology is open, and that their trade relationship with Cameroon is a win-win relationship," Fonka said.