Sports activities in Yaounde (Cameroon): products of non-institutional interactions

The city of Yaounde (Cameroon) is experiencing an institutional weakness in the structuring of local sports facilities in relation to the population. This does not prevent sports activities from being held. The practice of sport encourages people to look for space themselves to practice. They turn to owners of private sports facilities, reconvert disused urban areas or occupy urban amenities such as sidewalks, car parks, roundabouts, etc. They create new spatial relationships supported by mechanisms of self-organization of sports practice. This article looks at these models of sports organization which contrast with those of certain countries of the North such as France, where local sports practice is largely structured by public authorities (State, local communities).