CAMEROON NATIONAL TEAM

Africa Cup of Nations 2004

Cameroon vs Nigeria

Match Issued Kit

M’Bami Modeste

Did you Know?

This Cameroon’s kit is a match issued kit released by Puma for the “Africa Cup of Nations 2004” and it represents one of the most controversial uniforms of football history and for the “indomitable” team (Cameroon) it was just one of the many of its history that took the “Fédération Camerounaise de Football” in to big troubles with FIFA. Everything started in 2002. Cameroon was heading into the African Cup of Nations in Mali as one of the favourites. Cameroon went on to win their fourth “African Cup of Nations” wearing a sleeveless shirt. But FIFA, not traditionally a happy-go-lucky, throw caution to the wind organization, weren’t impressed. FIFA banned the kit, with spokesman Keith Cooper saying: “They’re not shirts, they’re vests. So Cameroon headed to the 2002 World Cup with black sleeves under their ‘vests’ to keep FIFA happy. That should have been where the story ended. But two years after the vest debacle, Cameroon’s squad headed to defend their African Cup of Nations title in Tunisia wearing a onesie with shirt and shorts sewn together and with red under layers representing lion’s scratches. But again the FIFA President Sepp Blatter was incensed. He whined: “It goes against the laws of the game. The rules are very clear, there is one shirt, one shorts and one socks. They cannot do it. You cannot play a game against the laws of the game. We are the guardians of the laws of the game – the laws are universal.” The mere fact that FIFA were made to dust off and enforce their ‘all shirts and shorts must be separate items of clothing’ rule for the first time ever  with this Puma kit. Despite the kit being cleared by the Nations Cup organizers, FIFA were not best pleased when Cameroon flaunted their warning and sported the strip during the group stages of the tournament, thus irking Sepp Blatter by directly contravening his ‘no separate shirt/shorts, no service’ rule. FIFA banned Cameroon from wearing the kit in the knock-out stages, but Puma countered by claiming that they simply would not be able to produce a re-jigged kit within the space of a week – leading the Lions to throw caution to the wind and wear the strip again during their 2-1 quarter-final defeat against Nigeria. So the team played against Nigeria with its home green onesie (the yellow one beside was the away onesie kit). Taken aback by the insolence on display, FIFA then deducted six points from Cameroon’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and fined their Football Federation the princely sum of $154,000 dollars – a fine which Puma paid on the organization’s behalf while bizarrely blaming rivals Adidas for influencing the decision due to the German brand’s close ties with football’s governing body. The dispute rumbled on for months, with Puma adamant that no rules had been broken (except the one about red and green never being seen), until both parties agreed to settle out of court – with FIFA finally restoring the six points they had stripped from Cameroon’s qualifying tally. It’s also worth bearing in mind that all this hoopla came just two years after Puma and Cameroon both got their knuckles wrapped for trying it on with a sleeveless number at the 2002 World Cup. 

“Africa Cup of the Nations 2004” sleeveless shirt

“Fifa World Cup 2002” shirt