Published Saturday, 14 October 2023

Cameroonian legend, Geremi Njitap has shared some words of advice to current national team coach and former teammate, Rigobert Song following the draw of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023 in Abidjan. 

Speaking to CAFOnline following the draw that saw them pitted against reigning champions, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia, the former midfielder cautioned against focusing all their energies on the fixture against the reigning champions.

“I wouldn’t really call it the group of death because when you look at all the groups, they are all tough but of course people will be looking at Senegal and Cameroon. As a former player with lots of experience, when you go to this kind of competition, the key is the first match,” said the former midfielder.

“For us Cameroon, our first match is against Gambia so the manager should be working on that, then we move on to the next match.  This is something I am saying on experience. So Rigobert Song should start working on the game against Gambia” said Njitap.

A lot will be expected of the former champions who always go into the competition as one of the sides to look out for.

The Indomitable Lions have been crowned African champions a record five times, with their last gold achievement being in 2017 in Gabon.

Also sharing his thoughts on Cote d’Ivoire as hosts of the tournament, Njitap lauded the Ivorian nation for a successful draw which he says has set the tone for something special next year.

“I have to say I am quite happy. The ceremony was fantastic, and this is an opportunity to congratulate CAF and Cote d’Ivoire. Having 24 nations here will be very special and they have already shown that they are able to do something very special next year through this draw,” concluded Njitap.