Thursday October 12, Cameroon will be the first non-Asian team to play a match against the Russian A selection since the start of the war in Ukraine. One month to the day after qualifying for the next African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, the Indomitable Lions will play a friendly match at the VTB Arena stadium in Moscow in the evening. A breach in Russia’s sporting isolation, yet little relayed in the country.
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From our correspondent in Moscow,
There is indeed a national daily, The Izviestia, to point out that the meeting was long awaited. The Russia-Cameroon match was in fact originally scheduled for mid-June, before its cancellation a month earlier.
The same newspaper also notes that the Cameroonian team is “ historically considered one of the strongest on the continent » African. The Izviestia specify, to support this statement, the track record of the Indomitable Lions selection: first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990, gold medal in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games, five continental titles…
The fact remains that in Russia, the opportunity which has become extremely rare since the start of the war in Ukraine to see the national team evolve does not particularly attract the crowds. On the eve of kick-off, 80% of the stadium seats were filled, which is a usual level for a friendly match.
Little interest, lack of stake
The absence of any real issue weighs heavily in the eyes of football fans in Russia. Kirill Choulika, journalist and blogger specializing in sport, struggles to find any real interest in this Russia-Cameroon:
“ It’s simply a political subject, to show that Russia is not isolated, that if Western teams refuse to play with us, we are capable of finding opponents on other continents. To show that we can play with teams from Latin America, Africa, Asia… »
No programming is planned on state channels, which account for the bulk of the audience. To see Cameroonians and Russians hit the leather, you will have to turn for example to Match TV, a specialized channel.
Pavel Zanozin, a well-known sports commentator in Russia, confides: “ A little over six months ago, our team played against Kyrgyzstan. There was also the Egypt Olympics. We can say that these players had a ridiculous level. There, we have a real team in front of us that, even in normal times, it would have been nice to see play. It is even the strongest team against which the Russian national team has been able to play for a year and a half. But hey, everyone understands that this is not an official competition. »
Next opponent for the Russian selection: Kenya. A match which should take place in Istanbul, Turkey.