Bui Division: Community Football Tournament Crowns Tabaski Feastings in Takov

By Njong Shey

A football tournament crowning the celebration of the Muslim feast of Tabaski drew thousands of people to Takov, one of the villages in Kuvlu, located in the Nkum Subdivision, Bui Division of the North West Region.

Finals of the tournament, which has been a decades-long tradition to celebrate the Feast of Tabaski, were played on Saturday, June 7, with Lucasa FC of Mbolive beating Climate Change of Nseh 1–0.

The football jamboree is a tradition that has existed for years in this Muslim community.

However, the activity slowed down in previous years because of the Anglophone Crisis. This year, residents used it to mark a relative return of peace in the area.

On the outskirts of the village, thousands gathered at the community field where the Takov Islamic Primary School once operated for the football competition, which, for close to a century, has been a unifying factor.

Cross-country Race

Aside from the football match that brought thousands from different villages, there was also a race.

It started from Takov, then headed westward to Mbolive, northward to Nseh, eastward to Nsemdzen, and finally back to Takov.

The race drew spectators from all these villages. Interestingly, the track spanned from the Nso kingdom to another called Nseh and then back to Nso, since Takov is a border locality.

A popular athlete known as “Journalist” from Mbobwem, in Nseh Fondom, won the race.

He has won several races in Bui Division and has participated multiple times in the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope.

Lucasa FC of Mbolive Crowned Champions

The football encounter, which started at about 4 p.m. on Saturday, was between Lucasa FC of Mbolive and Climate Change of Nseh. Both teams hail from the Nseh Fondom.

The heated encounter ended with no goals in the first half, as both teams gave each other no scoring chances.

But Lucasa FC broke the deadlock in the second half with the tournament’s lone goal.

They received a trophy and some cash, while their opponents were also rewarded. But to the villagers, the competition was more of a celebration of community, social cohesion, and peace than a quest for money and fame.

Takov, a predominantly Muslim village, is surrounded by Christian communities. That explains the significance of the jamboree, which brings thousands from far and near villages during Tabaski.