Indomitable Lions of Cameroon Refuse To Board Plane To Brazil

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Sunday refused to board a plane due to take them to Brazil following a long-running dispute over bonus payments for the tournament, forcing their national federation to take out a loan to meet their demands.

The country’s soccer governing body, Cameroon Football Federation confirmed the incident saying it ”regrets to announce” that the former African champions’ departure from Yaounde on a plane put aside for its use had been delayed.

The federation however, said it had taken out a ”private loan” to meet player demands, and would now give each squad member around $12,000.

The squad, according to FIFA will arrive Brazil on Monday, four days before the Africans’ first game against Mexico on Friday.

Cameroon’s stars, including Barcelona’s Alex Song, former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o have been in dispute with federation officials since last month, when the team threatened to boycott a training session at a pre-tournament preparation camp in Austria because the World Cup bonuses promised weren’t enough.