Cameroon sports minister sacked in wake of strike row

Cameroon played against Morocco but refused to travel to Algeria - an action which eventually cost the country's sports minister his job

Cameroon's sports minister Michel Zoah has been sacked, following a row which saw the national team refuse to play an international friendly.

Zoah has been replaced by Adoum Garoua, who is a former minister of youth affairs in the country.

The strike by the players was sparked by the delayed payment of appearance money for a number of friendly games.

Adoum Garoua is the new minister in charge of sport in Cameroon

The former minister had criticised the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) for its handling of the affair.

The Cameroon presidency had already agreed to take over the investigation into the row.

Zoah has also paid the price for Cameroon's failure to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and the perceived weakness of international football in the country at the moment.

The sports ministry largely funds football in the country but has been involved in a long-running dispute over the administration of the game.

Garoua has already called for unity within football in the country.

"The sports ministry is peculiar for draining a lot of passion and emotions but teamwork is required to achieve objectives" he said.