Cameroon appoint Toni Conceicao as head coach

Cameroon have named Portuguese manager Toni Conceicao as head coach of the senior national team on Friday.

The Portuguese trainer comes in as Clarence Seedorf’s replacement following the Dutchman’s dismissal in July after a poor Africa Cup of Nations showing.

The Indomitable Lions went into the competition in Egypt as defending champions, but couldn’t go past the Round of 16, where long-standing rivals Nigeria eliminated them 3-2.

It came on the back of an unimpressive group stage, in which the Central African nation ended second in Group F with five points.

The Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) sacked Seedorf shortly after their elimination, and have now opted for 57-year-old Conceicao.

Formerly in charge of CFR Cluj, where he won the Romanian Cup twice and Super Cup once, the Portuguese has the experience of coaching 16 teams in the last 15 years.

The journeyman has also had spells at nine clubs in Portugal while having been involved with Cyprian and Saudi Arabian clubs.

He will be assisted by Cameroon World Cup hero Francois Omam Biyik who returns to the national team coaching staff where he previously served as assistant to Javier Clement from 2010 to 2011.

The details of the contract have not been disclosed by Fecafoot.

Cameroon will host the next Afcon finals in 2021, and the pair of Conceicao and Biyik are expected to prepare the nation for the next two years.

The Portuguese coach will take charge of the side for the first time in a friendly against Tunisia on October 12.