Douala: A city bobbling with nightlife, poor in sports culture

The ongoing 2024 African Senior Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, may have exposed the bias and poor sports culture of the people, particularly, towards track and field event.
 
When Cameroon hosted AFCON 2021, a first-time visitor to Douala would jump into a conclusion that the people are sports lovers. Then in 2021, all major streets and public places, including the airport, hotels and bars were branded with pictures of old and new players like Roger Miller, Samuel Eto’o and Vincent Aboubakar. The city was full of celebration the way Brazilians do.
 
In Brazil, sports is a culture for both the old and the young. Whenever the Brazilian national team play, or their star athlete is on duty, the people lined up the streets singing and dancing facing the direction of the match venue. 
   
The Jamaicans do the same, especially for track and field.
   
Even at the last African Games held in Ghana, the people displayed high level of enthusiasm for sports with everything imaginable branded in the colours of Ghana. Ghanaian sports culture was felt at the airports, around the towns, on taxis, in the shops, on street kiosks, etc. Even some houses were repainted in national colours, as were souvenirs, clothes, flags, and small take-away items on the streets.
 
But such sports culture is missing completely here in Douala, despite the invasion by top African track and field stars in the city for the 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships. 
 
It is an Olympics year, and the 23rd CAA African Senior Championships mean so much to every country in the continent.
 
From the Douala International airport, to the city, hotels and even the competition venue, Japoma Stadium, one hardly feel the impact of such important track and field championships holding in the city.
 
The opening ceremony was worst hit. A few spectators who were mainly visitors from other countries were present creating a huge vacuum of fans inside the gigantic complex. All over the world, sporting events without the fans is nothing. The usual hailing, clapping, singing and dancing from the fans play a major role in motivating the athletes and players on the field. Such is missing in Douala.
 
At a point, during the opening ceremony, on Friday, the championships was like an inter-house competition for primary school children. It was the same empty stadium at the Japoma stadium, yesterday.
 
One Nigerian athlete, a U.S.-based star asked: “Does it mean the people of Douala does not like athletics? How come there is nobody around to cheer us on? Right from the airport to our hotel, I did not see any banner displaying photographs of top athletes, including Cameroonians. It is like the publicity for this championships is very low, and it is not good for this kind of event.”
 
Among top athletes on ground here for the championships include World No 3 women’s long jumper, Ese Brume of Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire top sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, World No 8 men’s shot put thrower, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of Nigeria, Record Breaker in women’s High Jump, Temitope Adeshina of Nigeria, sprinter Benjamin Richardson of South Africa, among others.
 
However, the people’s poor sports culture notwithstanding, they are one of the best in Africa in the area of nightlife. From Friday till Sunday, the people of Douala enjoy nightlife as if there is no tomorrow. They are seen in all parts of the city, drinking, eating and dancing at every available space, including clubs.
 
One major factor noticed about the people at night is that some married couple go their separate way drinking and dancing unlike in some other African countries, including Nigeria, where husband and wife are ‘gummed together’ for fear of attack or husband and wife ‘snatchers’ at night clubs.
 
Cameroon is not economically viable. But despite their tight economy situation, coupled with bad roads, which make movement around the city very tight, the people of Douala go about their daily lives easily. A majority of them make end meet through ‘okada,’ which are specially designed with an umbrella covering both the rider and passage.
 
“As you can see, the roads are very bad and we have to be very careful not to hit ‘Okada’ riders and women going about their daily businesses. That is why we take live so easy here because the more you go in a hurry, the more you make mistakes,” one taxi driver, who gave his name as Samuel told The Guardian.
 
Asked why the people are not attending the ongoing CAA African Senior Athletics Championships at the Japomo stadium, Samuel said: “Not many people are even aware of this event since it is not football. Besides it won’t bring food to our table.”