Following a 20 year partnership that has provided several iconic looks for the Indomitable Lions, news has broken that PUMA will no longer be the kit supplier for Cameroon. PUMA have supplied Cameroon’s kits since 1998, but with the deal expiring at the end of 2018 negotiations to extend the deal have broken down, as announced by FECAFOOT Acting President, Seydou Mbombouo Njoya.
The news brings a close to 20 years of collaboration that has given us iconic kits and moments such as the controversial sleeveless shirt of 2002, in which Cameroon won the African Cup of Nations in Mali, before being told by FIFA that they were not legal for the World Cup. That was followed two years later by the comical “onesie” design that the Indomitable Lions were handed a $154,000 fine and docked six-points from their 2006 World Cup qualifying group for wearing.
The "onesie" design, for those that missed it, saw PUMA countering the age old problem of untucked shirts by literally stitching them to the shorts in a ludicrous unitard design. Still not sure how the players got into them. Cameroon wore the kit in the 2004 African Cup of Nations until their elimination in the quarter final against Nigeria, and PUMA paid the fine despite disputing the punishment with FIFA. Several months later both parties agreed to settle out of court – with FIFA finally restoring the six points they had stripped from Cameroon’s qualifying tally.
But possibly one of the best efforts to come from the partnership came with the 20 year anniversary kit that was released at the end of 2017. Emblazoned with a modern and striking interpretation of the famous roaring lion crest, it was an individual design that reflected and represented the crest and country. Big Cats going their separate ways, but quite the high to go out on.
PUMA have been making some huge moves in the game recently, so the fact that an agreement could not be reached between both parties seems like a missed opportunity to develop the partnership in a really interesting way. Early reports suggest that adidas are the frontrunners to pick up the partnership with Cameroon, although nothing has been confirmed yet. The potential that African nations provide from a kit manufacturing perspective has been brought to the fore recently, particularly following Nike's Nigeria kit for last year's World Cup, so the availability of Cameroon will not go unnoticed.
