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Reunification Stadium
“It’s something that wasn’t supposed to be… A B-side. The B-side of the anthem, which nobody knows.”
Manu Dibango about Soul Makossa interviewed by Claudy Siar in 2019 for the program Couleurs tropicales.
In 1972, Cameroon had the honor of hosting the 8th African Cup of Nations. This privilege is accompanied by several developments, including the construction of a state-of-the-art stadium, the Reunification Stadium in Douala.
Douala is also known as the birthplace of musician Manu Dibango. Anxious to pay tribute to his country and to this event, he obtains, thanks to the Minister of Sports of Cameroon, the authorization and a financing to create the official anthem of the competition. After composing the main track, he recorded a second track for the B side, Soul Makossa.
The idea came to him during a rehearsal with the police band created by one of his friends. Supervising the officials in their essays, he began to imagine Soul Makossa, inspired by Makossa, a Cameroonian music style, and Javanese, a Cameroonian game in which words are added to a sentence. Trying with makossa, the lyrics give “Mama ko mama Sa maka makossa”. He doesn’t know it yet, but this child’s play will bring Manu Dibango to the rank of international superstar.
Once the vinyl is burned, copies are distributed widely to the fans so that they can listen to the anthem recorded especially for the occasion. However, when the Cameroon team was eliminated by the Congo, the fans broke the vinyl in rage. “Nobody wanted to hear about this thing anymore”, Manu Dibango will remember in 2019, in the program Couleurs tropicales.
Fortunately, the musician does not let himself be overwhelmed by the wave of anger sweeping the country. Back in Paris, he recorded Soul Makossa again on a new album that became a worldwide success. In the following years, the song is illegally covered by Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez or Rihanna. Manu Dibango is torn between a feeling of flattery and a certain anger to see his title used in this way. A few financial arrangements later, the song is still very popular today. It has also contributed to its author’s entry into the very closed circle of French-speaking artists who have succeeded in exporting themselves
in the United States.
The Minister of Sports of Cameroon awarded one million CFA francs to Manu Dibango to record the anthem of the competition.
Stade de la Réunification
Built in 1970 to host the 8th African Cup of Nations, the Reunification Stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators.
Seven of the city’s clubs share the ground, sometimes resulting in record crowds of up to 32,000. A renovation for the 2022 African Cup of Nations edition included an extension to expand the seating capacity to 40,000. Its full name, Bepanda Reunification Sports Complex, sometimes earns it the nickname “Bepanda bowl”.
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