African Women Writing Resistance: An Anthology of Contemporary Voices

To Be or Not to Be a Lesbian: The Dilemma of Cameroon’s Women Soccer Players

Cameroon is a leading soccer nation in Africa. It is a national passion and the men’s national team has performed well in the international arena. However, it has not yet succeeded in building a top women’s soccer team at the international level. The following interview helps us to understand why this has not been the case. The interviewee required anonymity. She will be referred to here as Hoka H. Hoka H., what kind of experience do you have with women’s soccer in Cameroon? I spent about fifteen years as a Cameroonian soccer player. I was among the best during my career. Why was your country absent from World Cup 2003? We took third place at the African Cup of Nations games. Only the first- and the second-place finishers qualified for the World Cup finals. 85 To Be or Not to Be a Lesbian The Dilemma of Cameroon’s Women Soccer Players Sybille Ngo Nyeck Did you think your country had a chance to go further? If so, why don’t Cameroonian women do as well as the men at the international level? Firstly, I believe that we need our national championship to be better organized . Secondly, the national team needs more time to prepare. I want to point out that Cameroon has no soccer-training center for women. If we look carefully at how things evolve, I would say this kind of project has not yet been conceived . However, Cameroon has talented women players just like men—to come in third place is not bad. But I would also denounce those nations that host tournaments which try to make sure by any means, sometimes unorthodox , that they remain leaders in Africa. What do you mean by “unorthodox”? When I say “unorthodox,” I think of how the opposing teams are treated. For instance, the nutrition of women players is not always controlled. At a technical level, the referees are chosen in a way that may influence the results of matches. Sometimes, teams are given accommodations a long distance away from the stadiums. Could you tell us how local clubs select female players? How are contracts determined and what do they say? The recruitment of girls is done by women players. This means that if in my neighborhood I meet a girl who is interested in soccer, I may introduce her to a club and to the championship league. The trainers [managers/coaches] reach out the same way. They sometimes go to schools, and, with the help of gym teachers, select their “product.” Sometimes women just come to the clubs and offer their services. We have no standard method of recruitment here. The contracts are small because clubs have meager incomes. Women who do receive some money are usually paid between 20,000 and 100,000 F CFA (Cameroon francs). They are given stipends (between 300 and 300 F CFA) for each training session, just enough to pay for their transportation. Each signature binds a player for two years to her club. The contracts do not specify that she must give an account of her private life. What about the selections to the national team? At the national level, there is a preselection process during the championship. . . . But things are not always easy because there is a category of girls who, sadly, have been the victims of blackmail. In Cameroon, to be suspected of being a lesbian is enough to have your place within the national team taken away—this 86 Part Two. Speaking Out is not only true for the national team, but also at the club level, as lesbians are threatened. We wonder whether living a homosexual life has any effect on athletic performance. Are there lesbian women athletes, and, if so, has this created a stereotype? Lesbians are everywhere in Cameroon. There is no specific place for them in society. They are in all social classes and professions: business, trade, politics, sports, and schools—in sum, everywhere. People just live their lives and try to feel good about who they are. They are not visible activists because our society is far from accepting homosexuals. How do you think discrimination against suspected lesbians impacts their performance at the local and international levels? Without hesitation I say that suspected or real lesbians are victims of all sorts of discrimination. The [male soccer] club leaders had even decided to kick them out of...