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The recent African Cup of Nations (Afcon) held in Cameroon showed the people's love for football, but as the national side prepares for a World Cup play-off, not all Cameroonians want the team to make it to Qatar, as Tony Vinyoh reports.

It is a common refrain that sport and politics should not mix, but when it comes to football in Cameroon they are inextricably linked.

The five-year conflict that has pitted Anglophone separatists against the central government has seeped onto the football field.

When Egypt beat Cameroon in the Afcon semi-finals, much of the country went into mourning but Bamenda, the centre of dissent in the English-speaking regions, erupted in celebration. Most of those celebrating Cameroon's defeat did so in the safety of their homes but their voices could be heard across town.

Whistles, chants and even motorbike stunts in the suburb of Bambili reflected the feeling among many southern Cameroonians to whom the Indomitable Lions, as the national team is known, has become a vivid representation of a union they despise.

Among those celebrating the Afcon defeat was Dr Ngwa Ebogo, a surgeon and urologist.
 
As a passionate football fan he is aware of the role that sport plays in politics in the country, and the impact it has on the lives of his patients.

"This country has a tendency to use football to sweep burning issues under the rock. They tend to put more money into football because they know football is a unifying factor," he says.

The anger in Bamenda is a remarkable reversal from 1998 when some residents set fire to the offices of Cameroon's national energy supplier in angry protest after power went out before the Indomitable Lions played Austria at that year's World Cup.

At the time Cameroon's separatist movement was an underground campaign championed by recalcitrant civil servants anticipating early retirement.

Dr Ebogo backed Cameroon until 2016 when the southern Cameroonian crisis started. He now believes Cameroon's sporting victories play into the government's strategy of diverting attention.

"Even if you're fighting and the Indomitable Lions win, you forget about what you're fighting for. They've done this systematically for many years. Each victory that the Indomitable Lions bring home increases the misery of the people."
 
The team plays a central role in the carefully choreographed image of 89-year-old President Paul Biya, who is in his 40th year in power.

As first sportsman of the republic, a popular video clip of a youthful Mr Biya congratulating the team was played on national TV after every Afcon victory at the recent tournament.

"Most Cameroonians think that when the Indomitable Lions win it is because of the strong man," Dr Ebogo says.
"The Indomitable Lions win a trophy and people send motions of support to the president of the republic."
People in Bamenda are careful who they voice their opinions too, so it is a constant struggle to mute their joy when the Indomitable Lions lose.
Out in the open where dissent can be deadly - knowing looks and beaming faces tell only a small part of the story.
 
In the colonial era, Cameroon was carved up by the French and British, which left a linguistic and cultural divide.
For decades after independence English-speakers complained they were marginalized, with political and economic power concentrated in the hands of the French-speaking majority.

That has now broken out into open revolt and calls for independence for the English-speaking region.
The first casualty of the war was the women's national team.