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Legendary players to grace Roger Milla’s 70th birthday gala match


Several football stars from Africa and beyond are expected in Cameroon next week for a gala match as part of activities to celebrate the 70th birthday of the legendary Roger Milla.

Born on May 20, 1952 in Yaoundé, the former Cameroonian football great is considered one of Africa’s best footballers ever.

As part of the celebration, a gala match will be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Atadium in Yaounde on May 21.

In a video message, the former African footballer of the year (1976 and 1990) confirmed that several football legends will take part in the gala match.

Among those expected to take part in the game are former Togolese striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cameroonian legends, Samuel Eto’o, Pierre Wome, Raymond Kalla, Geremi Njitap, former Nigerian attacking midfielder, Jay Jay Okocha, former Senegalese forward El Hadj Diouf and midfielder Khalilou Fadiga.

Others expected to take part in the match are Ivorian-born French former defender Basile Boli, former French captain Marcel Desailly and former Spanish right back, Michel Salgado are among those .

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi and World Cup-winning French midfielder, Zinedine Zidane, may also attend the event.

The organization of the match is being coordinated by Milla’s 1990 World Cup teammate, Jules Denis Onana.

Milla illuminated the 1990 World Cup tournament where he scored four goal all of which he celebrated with his famous corner flag post jig.

Four years later at the 1994 World Cup, Milla, who was then 42 years old, became the oldest player ever to score a goal at World Cup as Cameroon lost 6-1 to Russia.

“It pleases me when I see other players score today and dance the way I did in 1990,” Milla told Nation Sports back in 2016.

Milla, who was named the best African player of the 20th century in 2015, today shuttles between the office of the Cameroon FA President, where he serves as a roving ambassador and his humanitarian organisation, ‘Coeur d’Afrique’ (Heart of Africa) foundation.