MTN Elite 1 2011-2012: Kick-off 3 December
Coton Sport de Garoua
The first division national championship that
was started in 1961 was re-baptised the “MTN Elite One” in 2007, named after
its new sponsor.
Since the 2008-2009 season, only 14 teams compete
in this championship which has just turned professional with the very recent establishment
of a Professional Football League presided by General Pierre Semengue.
The current title-holder, Coton
Sport de Garoua is the favourite to take the crown again this year.
The Cotonculteurs have won eleven
of the last fifteen editions, and were runners-up in the other four!
The Cameroonian giant has been trained
by Gabriel Haman since Denis Lavagne assumed the position as head of the
Indomitable Lions.
Their most serious rivals will be
the two formations from Douala, the Astres and Union Sportive, as they await
the revival of the legendary Canon de Yaoundé, three-time African champion, whose
last national crown goes back to 2002.
The regions that are most
represented are those from the Coastal Region (Astres, Union Sportive, Scorpion
de Bé and promoted New Star de Douala) and from the West (Unisport de Bafang,
Sable de Batié, Panthère Sportive du Ndé and Aigle Royal de la Menoua).
Canon Sportif de Yaoundé and
Renaissance de Ngoumou represent the Central region; Yong Sport Academy, the North-West;
Tiko United and Njalla Quan de Limbé, the South-West; and of course Coton
Sport, the North.
The club from Garoua and Canon
Yaoundé share 21 national crowns, and Union Sportive won the last of its four
titles in 1990.
The three other teams in this 2011-2012
edition who have claimed the title in the past have each won it once, namely Unisport
de Bafang in 1996, Sable de Batié in 1999 and Tiko United in 2009.
The 14 representatives of the MTN Elite One
2011-2012:
Coton Sport FC de Garoua
Astres FC de Douala
Union Sportive Douala
Unisport FC de Bafang
Yong Sport Academy de Bamenda
Tiko United FC
Sable FC de Batié
Canon Sportif de Yaoundé
Panthère Sportive du Ndé
Renaissance FC de Ngoumou
Scorpion FC de Bé
New Star de Douala
Njalla Quan de Limbé
Aigle Royal de la Menoua
Calendar for Day 1:
Canon de Yaoundé – Astres de Douala
Renaissance de Ngoumou – Njalla Quan de Limbé
Yong Sport Academy – Panthère du Ndé
Aigle de la Menoua – New Star de Douala
Union Sportive Douala – Tiko United
Sable de Batié – Coton Sport de Garoua
Scorpion de Bé – Unisport de Bafang
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