Cameroon: Volker Finke dismissed from coach role

Finke's reign as Cameroon boss has ended after more than two years

Cameroon coach Volke Finke has been dismissed from the job.

The decision was taken by the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) executive committee on Friday, after Finke lost popularity with the public.

"People have rejected him," Fecafoot President Tombi A Roko Sidiki said.

"His style of play had become stereotyped, lacking inspiration for the players selected and without any strategy for victory," Sidiki added.

German Finke, 67, had been in charge since May 2013 but suffered poor campaigns at the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Fecafoot announced on its Twitter page that Alexandre Belinga has been appointed interim head coach to be assisted by Bonaventure Djonkep.

The pair will be in charge for the two-legged 2018 World Cup qualifier against Niger on 13 and 17 November, an arrangement which could be extended depending on results.

"We would appreciate Belinga's management of the games against Niger in both legs and if he convinces, he can remain there even for ten years", Sidiki said.

Once a dominant force in African football, Cameroon have struggled in the past five years and Finke was unable to turn around their fortunes.

At the World Cup in Brazil, Finke's side lost all three games with several disciplinary issues amongst his players - Alex Song was sent off and team-mates Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Benjamin Moukandjo clashed on the field.

Cameroon appeared to recover when they qualified unbeaten for the Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea a year later but they were eliminated at the first hurdle at the tournament.