Created in
2004, Yong Sports Academy Bamenda is a combination of a sports training center
and football team. According to Mr Yong
Francis, he founded the sports training center and club “to assist young footballers, who aspire to become professionals, to
achieve their dreams in an environment specifically build in their interest”.Yong Sport Academy Training Center
Situated in the outskirts of mile six Nkwen, The success of the training center has been overwhelming with young and burning football talents from within and without the country searching for the elite training facility right into the heart of Njenefor.
According to many of the trainees their going into the center for professional football is not limited around the fact that they want to be footballers but anchored on the fact that the founder and proprietor Mr. Yong Francis decided to put education at the center of the professional football training.
At the opening of the center Mr Yong Francis justified this saying “ I will not want to promise you that every boy who leaves this school will be taken to play in Barcelone or in Real Madrid or even in YOSA because no want knows God’s plan for another………. I have therefore decided that one of my buses will be kept here in the center so that students in the center can use to school to acquire formal education…….. If they do not succeed in their dreams as footballers, with the Advanced Level certificate they can do something useful with their lives”.
Quizzed on whether the trainees will only attend his schools Mr. Yong Said “Why? they have the freedom to attend any school of their choice but I will advise that if possible they study together. I am also sure that if I make them study together discipline will be easier. But I think I should not force anyone to do what he does not like. My advice will only be that everyone here should be going to school while learning football. Derick you know that not every footballer will be like Roger Milla or Etoo and so you must have another certificate such that if football does not go well as you wish you can use it to better your life”.
As years go by the number of students on training in the center has been on a steady increase with some coming from as far as Great Britain and Nigeria. According to observers this is thanks to the respected promises of the founder Mr. Yong Francis. The center is a full boarding facility with standard dormitories, toilets, a permanent water supply system, a decent gastronomic department, qualified and experienced instructors, as well as a standby bus and driver for the transportation of trainees to schools for formal education. With two professionally made and sized football fields, Yong Sports Academy Training Center has been able to rise to prominence amongst other academies with similar objectives in Cameroon and beyond. In a recent visit to the center Joti Stamatoloupos a UEFA-FIFA professional licensed Football Coach of the German Football Federation described the facility as a “jewel for young footballers in this part of the world. I did not expect to see this here in Cameroon. It is a great football training center”
Worthy of note is the fact that Mr. Yong Francis did not only create this center to train footballers. To him talents like athletics that flourish in the Northwest Region needed to be harnessed. This center he said “will for now be starting with football and later athletics”.
YOSA football Club
At the creation of the sports training center Pa Yong as he is fondly called in 2004 created a division two team for the regional championship. For over 5years the team played the inter-poles twice and the National elite Two Championship for two years both tournaments to qualify for the national first division championship in Cameroon.
The team’s dream came to fulfillment in May of 2009 when Kongnyuy Jude in fine form transformed a golden opportunity to a goal to beat Caiman of Douala 1-0 in the Bamenda municipal stadium in front of thousands who had shown up for the game. The search for a division one ticket had been a heart desire for Mr Yong Francis reason why he celebrated with plenty of satisfaction. Amongst the things he did for his team to show appreciation was to fly them and the technical staff to the United Arab Emirates for a break which has remained memorable to both the players and the technical staff at the time headed by Coach Kiyam Jean Baptiste.
For four years in the Elite Championship YOSA has graced the football fields in Cameroon with fine football thus rising to the ranks of reputable football teams in the Country.
YOSA wins Cameroon Cup
At the start of the 2013 football season Mr. Yong Francis without any signs of doubt told the Northwest regional administration headed by Governor Adolph Lele Lele L’Afrique that his team will win the years Cup of Cameroon trophy. With a National Coach with the right qualification for the Job, Ndumbe Bosso was given the responsibility of bringing this dream to fulfillment. At the start of the season the team’s results did not reflect that dream as the team lost several games. Yet Mr Yong was still hopeful. In July he left his team for his regular checkup in the United States of America at the 16th final stage of the Cup of Cameroon. This is the furthest YOSA had gone in previous years and so with its unconvincing performance in the league many a supporters had given up the dream. But when news of the team’s success and qualification for the quarter finals came a new spirit was generated. This was a fit lastly achieved by a team from the Northwest in 2000 that is Kumbo Strikers who later won the trophy. YOSA will later beat Panthere Nde and Union Movement Sportive Loum at the quarter and semifinals respectively in the absence of YOSA founder and President Mr. Yong Francis. This did not go well with many supporters who understood the struggle and wish of the football promotion addict. On the 22nd of December 2013 YOSA beat Canon 4-2 to lift the prestigious trophy received from the President of the Republic Paul Biya. Mr Yong Jack Achia Managing Director of the Team and son to Mr. Yong Francis sat very close to Mr. President representing his father who will later be reported to be in hospital under very critical conditions. As the trophy goes across to Bamenda and celebrations ready to resume upon the return of Mr. Yong, Monday December 30, 2013 will come with very bad news. Mr. Yong Francis is no more “he died this morning at about 6:30am in Atlanta Georgia USA” Yong Jack told every journalist who called him that morning for verification. Yong Jack Achia will later tell the state owned media the CRTV in deep physical emotional stress that he worked very close to his father in managing the team participating in making key decisions and so despite the president General’s death the team will continue to live.
National Polytechnic Football Club
Mr. Yong Jack and his family will not only have the task of managing the Elite club YOSA but also NPB FC a baby football club of Mr. Yong Francis created with the name of his higher institution National Polytechnic Bamenda. After creation in 2011 NPB FC staged a big surprise as it qualified for the National Division Two Championship same year. NPB Fc’s stay in the competition has given very tough times to popular teams in the championship. Its quest for a division one ticket has come so close causing many to begin asking if Mr. Yong’s followers will be able to maintain the two teams. This fear Mr. Yong Jack has continued to dismiss.
As the case may be the celebrated, respected, honored, decorated and even glorified football promotion addict Mr. Yong Francis is no more but his monumental achievements in football will surely live forever.