AFCON Q: Song Hands Late Calls To Ace Defender Etta Bawak & Emmanuel Mahop

Indomitable Lions trainer Rigobert Song has given late shouts to Thomas Etta Bawak of PWD and Emmanuel Mahop of Canon, all home-based players, with Fai Collins and Choupo-Moting out of the indomitable Lions’ camp due to injury.

With an injury plagued group and some players uncertain for the first of two 2023 AFCON qualifiers game against Namibia in Yaounde, Rigobert Song has opted to go local.

Emmanuel Mahop has been compensated for his scintillating performances so far in the Elite One championship, reaching double figures (10 goals).

His brace over the weekend under the watchful eyes of Rigobert Song and his backroom staff for Canon against Renaissance, convinced the coaches even more.

Vincent Aboubakar and Choupo Moting are both out, and Emmanuel Mahop, formerly of Akonangi, gets the nod.

In defense, Etta Bawak who played in the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship in Algeria, is on his way to camp.

Rigobert Song is a big admirer of the latter who has lined up some consistent performances, for club-side, PWD of Bamenda.

Bawak can be deployed as an alternative in the left back position or like an out-and-out right back, with Fai Collins injured. The 28-year-old’s strength is his ability to play in several positions on a football pitch.

Cameroon is in group C consisting of Kenya, Namibia and Burundi. However, on 23 May 2022, CAF announced that Kenya was disqualified from the qualifiers due to the suspension of the Football Kenya Federation by FIFA. The group is hereby chiselled to three teams, with Cameroon set to take on Namibia on the 23rd and 28th of this month.