Sports Features of Monday, 3 November 2014

Source: icameroon.com

Carl Enow Ngatchu: The success story of CMR’s female football

Carl Enow Ngatchu was born on February 21 1975 in Manyu Division, Southwest Region of Cameroon. For more than a decade, he has been at the helm of the Cameroon National Female Football team – the Indomitable Lionesses.

Enow Ngatchu became prominent in the 2010/2011 football season, when Cameroon defeated Nigeria for the first at the final of the All Africa Games in 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique, where the Indomitable Lionesses bagged a gold medal. This victory prompted the National Assembly of Cameroon to invite Enow Ngatchu and his team to celebrate together.

He led the Lionesses to the Olympic Games in London, UK, though they came out without any victory. In 2012, Enow Ngatchu led the Lionesses to the Female AFCON in Equatorial. Cameroon has never missed an edition of the African Women Championship since 1998. One man behind these series of success stories is the head coach of the Indomitable Lionesses — Carl Enow Ngatchu.

After achieving a feat with the Lionesses in 2002 and in 2012, Ngatchu has made other great strides by finishing at the final of the Female AFCON in 2014 in Windhoek, Namibia, while qualifying Cameroon to the final phase of the Female World Cup in Canada, come 2015.

Though the Lionesses lost 0-2 to the Super Falcons in the AFCON 2014 Final, the Cameroonian team showed the enormous progress made by the head coach and his technical team in the development of female football in Cameroon.

To put words into the actions he has been pursuing so far, Ngatchu said in a recent interview; “We have shown consistency in our play style at the African Women Championship, now is the time to do it on the world stage.”

Some observers have said the leadership of coach Carl Enow Ngatchu certainly convinced the Cameroon football authorities to bid for the hosting of Female AFCON 2016.

A former footballer himself, Enow Ngatchu played with Diamant of Yaounde, Electsport of Limbe, Victoria Shooting Stars in Division II and Sable of Batie in Division I.

His coaching spells have taken him to Yong Sports Academy in Bamenda and Njalla Quan Sport Academy in Limbe. Enow Ngatchu is also the President of the Southwest Coaches Association.