Cameroon

There is something special about African football. So often their nations are riven by identity crisis – in part caused by those pesky colonial types that drew whopping great straight lines across the continent – splitting cultures, nations, languages and religions as they went. What these nations need – are unity. And this is what the indomitable lions of Cameroon can provide – almost uniquely.

Unity is what Cameroon is all about. It is what is strives the most for. That colours in its flag – the star in the middle of that flag, and its most famous monument that adorns the away kit… are all named after unity.

So, let’s do the Lions and the fascinatingly beautiful and complex nation they represent the honour  - and #GetTheBadgeIn for the Cameroon national team.

The badge of Cameroon’s national football team proudly mirrors the national flag — three vertical bands of green, red, and yellow, centred by a single golden star. The green represents the deep southern forests, the yellow the blazing northern savannahs and life-giving sun, and the red the unity that binds the nation together. The yellow star, known as the Star of Unity, symbolises the coming together of peoples once divided — a shining emblem of Cameroon’s journey from colonial separation to proud independence.

This sense of unity is also reflected in the Indomitable Lions’ away kit, which features a design inspired by the Reunification Monument in Yaoundé. Designed in the 1970s by Gédéon Mpando and Engelbert Mveng, the spiral monument represents the merging of the British and French Cameroons. Its upward twist embodies the nation’s ongoing ascent — from hardship to hope — and reminds players and fans alike of the strength that comes when a people stand together.

Cameroon is often called “Africa in miniature” — and nowhere is this truer than in its landscape. The green of the flag reflects the lush tropical rainforests of the south, part of the vast Congo Basin. These forests are teeming with life: towering trees, chattering monkeys, hidden gorillas, and countless bird species. Among these marvels leaps one of the nation’s most extraordinary creatures — the Goliath Frog, the largest frog in the world. Found only in Cameroon and parts of Equatorial Guinea, it can grow over 30 centimetres long and leap nearly three metres in a single bound.

Further north, the yellow stripe of the flag represents the golden savannahs and the energy of the sun. These dry grasslands stretch across the Adamawa Plateau and towards Lake Chad, home to herders, farmers, and ancient trade routes. Together, these two landscapes — forest and savannah — show the incredible diversity of the country’s environment, united under one sky and one flag. The red band connects them both, symbolising the blood and spirit that bind Cameroon’s people, while the star gleams as a promise of continued unity.

When the Portuguese first arrived in 1472, they found the Wouri River alive with prawns and called it Rio dos Camarões — the River of Shrimps. The name became Cameroon. Later came the Germans, who ruled the territory from 1884 until the First World War, when Britain and France divided it between them.

The French took the larger eastern section; the British governed two smaller western territories. French became the language of one side, English of the other. Two systems, two schools, two cultures — all within a single land.

When independence came in 1960 for French Cameroun and 1961 for British Southern Cameroons, the dream of reunification finally became reality. Together, they formed the Federal Republic of Cameroon, later united under a single flag and government. The Reunification Monument in Yaoundé still stands as a testament to this hard-won unity — a spiral of concrete and faith, rising like a lion’s roar above the capital.

Cameroon’s history is marked by outside powers carving lines across a land that had once been whole. Yet, through this, Cameroonians have forged something extraordinary — a shared identity that transcends language and region. The Reunification Monument reminds every citizen that unity is not a given; it is built, protected, and renewed every day.

In a country where over 250 languages are spoken, and where colonial divisions still echo, the message of the Star of Unity is simple and powerful: Together, we rise.

If the Reunification Monument is unity cast in stone, then the Indomitable Lions are unity in motion. Football is Cameroon’s great unifier — the heartbeat that syncs every region, every tongue, every faith.

From Roger Milla’s joyous dances at the 1990 World Cup to Samuel Eto’o’s era of brilliance and Rigobert Song’s leadership, football has given Cameroonians something rare and precious: a shared story. When the Lions roar, the nation roars with them.

Recent history has continued that spirit. The team’s triumph at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil reignited national pride. Players from the English-speaking west and the French-speaking east stood together, arm in arm, singing the anthem before packed crowds in Yaoundé. The Lions’ comeback victories reminded Cameroonians of who they are — resilient, fearless, and united.

The national team’s green, red, and yellow kit carries more than colour — it carries memory. Each match becomes a new chapter in Cameroon’s ongoing story of togetherness, echoing the very purpose of the Reunification Monument.

Cameroon’s badge tells a story that stretches from rainforest to savannah, from the depths of history to the roar of the football pitch.

The badge, like the nation itself, shines under the Star of Unity — bold, bright, and unbreakable.