Cameroon football legend Roger Milla has appealed to the country’s authorities to name one of the new stadiums being built ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after him. One of the new grounds is a 52,000 capacity structure in Japoma on the outskirts of Douala.
Milla was born in Japoma 66 years ago and according to him, naming the stadium after him would be an opportunity for Cameroon to pay tribute to him for his contributions to the game and his service to his nation.
Regarded as his country’s greatest ever player, Milla won the Africa Cup of Nations twice in 1984 and 1988 with The Indomitable Lions. He also played at three FIFA World Cups, the most memorable of which was the 1990 edition where at the age of 38 his four goals fired Cameroon into the quarter finals, the first time an African team had reached that far in the history of the World Cup.
Four years later at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he made history after becoming the oldest goalscorer in the tournament’s history at the age of 42. He was voted African Footballer of the Year in 1976 and 1990 and in 2007 he was named as The Best African Player for The Last 50 Years by the Confederation of African Football.
Actively involved in social causes through his Heart of Africa Foundation, Roger Milla was also appointed an intinerant ambassador by the Cameroon presidency.