Eto’o, Makoun set to star for Cameroon Olympic side in
ING Cup
Hong Kong, 2 July 2008
Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o could feature in Cameroon’s Olympic squad for the
upcoming ING Cup in Hong Kong.
Eto’o and fellow Cameroon international Jean Makoun, the 25-year-old midfielder who
recently signed for French champions Lyon, were included in the latest provisional
Cameroon squad list supplied to ING Cup organisers.
The Olympic teams of the Netherlands, USA, Ivory Coast and Cameroon will contest the
ING Cup, which will be held at the Hong Kong Stadium on July 30 and August 2. The
ING Cup will be hosted by the Hong Kong Football Association and organised by
World Sport Group and KAM Sports International.
The ING Cup will act as the teams’ final preparation for the Men's Olympic Football
Tournament in China, where squads are made up of under-23 players and up to three
senior players. All of the final 18-man Olympic squads plus four alternate players must
be submitted to FIFA by July 23.
If selected, the 27-year-old Eto’o, who won the 2006 UEFA Champions League with
Barcelona and is the all-time top scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations, will be aiming to
win his second Olympic gold medal after he played a starring role in Cameroon’s
victory at Sydney 2000 at the age of 19.
“Samuel Eto’o and Jean Makoun are just the latest famous players who could compete
in the ING Cup,” Nick Mould, President of World Sport Group (East Asia), said at a
press conference in Hong Kong announcing the event schedule and ticket information.
“Like the other sides, Cameroon will be fielding a top-class team in the ING Cup. The
Netherlands, USA and the Ivory Coast are also expected to be among the strongest sides
in the Olympics. The ING Cup will be a quality, competitive event and we expect large
crowds in Hong Kong, where people are already fired up with the Olympic spirit.”
One of the world’s top strikers, Eto’o has won two La Liga titles with Barcelona and two
Africa Cup of Nations titles with Cameroon. He is the only three-time African Player of
the Year (2003, 2004, 2005) and was third in the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year
awards.
Salomon Kalou of the Ivory Coast, the USA’s Freddy Adu and Holland’s Royston
Drenthe, Ryan Babel and Roy Makaay are among the other stars set to light up the
ING Cup at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
Mould added: “The ING Cup is set to truly be one of the best football events ever
hosted in Hong Kong. Along with being a competitive event between four very strong
Olympic sides in an Olympic city just days before China’s first Olympics, the ING Cup
has already secured widespread television coverage and strong corporate sponsorship
from the likes of ING along with Nike, Budweiser and Nikon. This will be a truly
memorable event for football fans.”
M.K. Cheng, Country Manager, Hong Kong/Macau for ING Insurance Asia/Pacific, said:
“The Netherlands, Cameroon, USA and the Ivory Coast are all quality sides, whose
upcoming arrival is great news for Hong Kong’s football fans. The matches will be held
just days ahead of the Summer Games so are sure to attract great crowds.
“Sponsoring such a high-profile tournament will be a great boost to the ING brand,
especially as the four squads are among the strongest competitors for the Olympic
crown and feature so many world-class players,” Cheng added.
On July 30, the Ivory Coast will play the USA in the opening match, followed by
Cameroon against the Netherlands.
On August 2, Cameroon will play the USA and the Ivory Coast will take on the
Netherlands. The USA and the Netherlands could not play each other as both are
in Group B in the Olympic competition.
Along with Eto’o and Makoun, the latest squad list for the ‘Indomitable Lions’ includes
Alexandre Song (Arsenal, England), Andre Bikey (Reading, England) and Stephane
Mbia (Stade Rennais, France), who all play for the Cameroon senior side.
Ivory Coast’s ‘Young Elephants’ include Kalou of Chelsea and Yao Kouassi Gervais,
or ‘Gervinho’, another top attacker who plays for Le Mans in France’s top flight.
The USA squad is headlined by Adu, the teenage phenom who last August joined the
likes of Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes at Benfica in Portugal. Gabe Ferrari (Sampdoria,
Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England) and 18-year-old Jozy Altidore
(Villarreal, Spain) are among other young Americans playing in Europe.
The Dutch are one of the favourites for the Olympic crown, having won back-to-back
UEFA U-21 Championship titles in 2006 and 2007. Foppe De Haan’s squad will be
particularly keen to lift the ING Cup, as the financial services group is a strong
supporter of the Dutch national team.
Drenthe, Babel, Valencia midfielder Hedwiges Maduro and PSV Eindhoven’s
Otman Bakkal are among the team’s young stars, while Makaay, European Golden
Boot winner in 2002-03, is one of four overage players in the provisional squad for
Hong Kong and China.
Along with ING as the title sponsor, the ING Cup is also sponsored by Nike, Nikon
and Budweiser, with Royal Garden Hotel as the Official Hotel.
The ING Cup will be shown on the following television platforms: TVB, as the host
broadcaster; ESPN Star Sports in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau; GTV
for Africa; MBC for Korea; Fox Soccer Channel for USA and RTL for Holland.
WSG is in ongoing discussions to confirm coverage in China, Japan and the Middle East.
ING Cup match schedule
July 30, 2008 Cote d’Ivoire v USA Cameroon v Netherlands
August 2, 2008 Cameroon v USA Cote d’Ivoire v Netherlands
