Cameroonian footballer held ‘prisoner’ at Douala clinic for not paying bill

Reports say a local Cameroonian football player, Serge Mfambove Ngeuwo, is unable to leave a clinic in Douala, where he has been undergoing injury treatment, because he has not completed the bill.

The player has been prevented from leaving the clinic unless he pays the bill of 316,000 francs CFA.

However, the Secretary General of his club, UMS of Loum, has said they have already spent 300,000 francs CFA on the player since December after he sustained injuries.

Serge Mfambove sustained a double fracture on his left arm during a friendly match between UMS and Sawa FC in December 2022.

The player revealed he had been to Laquintinie hospital in Douala where an X-ray was conducted before he was taken to the said clinic for a follow-up treatment.

CNA reports that: “he was showing signs of recovery from the injury when the clinic billed him at 316,000, which his club thinks is unnecessarily expensive.”

The Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, under Samuel Eto’o Fils has been striving to prevent scenarios like this that have tainted the image of local football in the past.

It’s strategy has been to empower local players by securing better salaries and insurance for them.

In January 2022, FECAFOOT made it compulsory for local clubs in the country to obtain an insurance policy for their players and football workers who are in or out of training sessions and during their match sessions.

The institution also fixed the minimum wage for players at 100,000 francs CFA for players of the first league and the Guinness Super League, and 50,000 francs for players of the second league.

Cameroonians saw this as a landmark decision that could change the status of local football players who are often seen as poor and beggarly.

By Amina Hilda