Football news - Cameroon squad delay departure for Africa Cup of Nations over pay dispute

The reigning champions are set to start the tournament on Tuesday in a match against Guinea-Bissau, but the players did not appear for their flight on Thursday evening amid a spat over bonus payments.

"The Lions are still in Yaounde. They did not agree with their managers on the amount of their premiums," the spokeswoman told Reuters.

Pay disputes before major competitions are not unusual for African soccer federations who often do not have sufficient resources to pay their players high sums. Zimbabwe's squad have threatened to boycott the tournament opener against hosts Egypt on Friday, while Nigeria and Ghana have experienced similar problems in recent World Cups.

Ministry of sports spokesman Gabriel Nloga said the players had each been paid a bonus of 20 million CFA francs (£27,252), but a source at Cameroon's football federation said the players had asked for double that amount.

Two sources close to the negotiations said they expected the team to leave Cameroon later on Friday after the ministry of sport agreed to pay each player a 5 million CFA franc (£6,813) bonus after their first tournament victory.

The Central African country was last year stripped of its right to host the 2019 Nations Cup due to delays in preparations for the tournament and security concerns.

The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Friday with an opening match between hosts Egypt and Zimbabwe in Cairo at 21:00 (BST) with all the action live on Eurosport and the Eurosport Player.