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Cameroon Coach Volker Finke Given Two-Year Extension

Cameroon Coach Volker Finke Given Two-Year Extension

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) have decided to continue their association with German coach Volker Finke, handing him a two-year extension.

The vote of confidence for the coach comes at a time when it seemed his efforts with the Indomitable Lions were coming to an end, as he has been the subject of much criticism from the local media and supporters of the national team.

With his contract due to expire on May 23, the football authorities in the country were in search of their next potential coach, before orders from government forced those in power to renew with Finke.

The German has not been a popular figure for the most part, with Cameroon’s failure to progress from the group stages of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) placing a great deal of blame on the shoulders of their manager.

Despite this, German kit sponsor Puma is in favour of the coach, going as far as paying his $32,000 monthly wage on behalf of the FECAFOOT, while the presidency is keen on Finke remaining in his position and pushed to have his contract extended, according to a report from Cameroon-info.

The extension comes ahead of important qualifiers in the coming months, for both the 2017 AFCON in Gabon, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Finke’s next priority will be to have his side prepared for an upcoming friendly international against Burkina Faso on June 6 in Paris, which will take place less than a week before the first Nations Cup qualifier against Mauritania on June 12.

Cameroon is a favourite for many neutral supporters in Africa, because of their history at the World Cup, having qualified seven times for the competition, more than any other African team, while they were also the first African side to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, in 1990. This record still remains, though it is now shared with Senegal and Ghana.