Northwest Elite side, Yong Sport Academy (Yosa) is the first team to be relegated form the 2024/2025 Elite one championship in Cameroon.
Yosa was declared general forfeiture by the Disciplinary and Homologation Committee of FECAFOOT and will next play in the North West Regional Football league.
The committee took cognizance of YOSA’s failure to honoured two consecutive fixtures against Gazelle FC and Fauve Azure counting for match days 22 and 23.
According to the regulations binding the elite one championship, article 29(b) states a team will be declared general forfeiture if it fails to turn up for two matches without any force majeure.
Founded in 2004 by former referee and football promoter, Yong Francis, Yosa ascended to the elite one in the 2009/2010 football season, won the cup of Cameroon in 2013. The team has always been amongst the top five elite teams of the country.
Before the decision to relegate Yosa, club officials had initially struggled to go for matches due to financial constraints. They club had requested severally for the FA to pay outstsnding debts owed it but this never happened.
The decision of the homologation and disciplinary committee came as a shock. Team Yosa that was toping the league from the bottom actually played and lost it match of the 26th day of play. Also shocking was the fact that other teams like Bamboutos failed to honoured more than two fixtures but were never sanctioned as such.
Yosa for the past seasons have been playing all it’s home matches away from home in the West region for lack of playing grounds in the Northwest region.
By Abongwa Fozo
