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African football is in mourning. The illustrious footballer Jean Manga Onguene passed away on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in Paris after a long illness, at the age of 80.

An icon of the Indomitable Lions in the 1970s, Jean Manga Onguene etched his name in golden letters in the history of African football.

A member of Canon Yaoundé, Manga enjoyed a brilliant 16-year career (1966-1982) without changing clubs. He accumulated over 100 caps for the national team, scoring the majority of the goals. In 1980, he was honored with the African Ballon d'Or by France Football.

In 1982, just as international glory was within reach, he suffered a knee injury and missed the World Cup. He was replaced by a certain Eyobo. He retired from the pitch a few years later and was appointed assistant coach of the national team. In this role, he guided Cameroon to a memorable adventure at the 1990 World Cup alongside Russian Valeri Nepomniachi. The Indomitable Lions were eliminated in the quarter-finals by England, a first for an African team.

From 1989 to 2002, Manga alternated between the roles of head coach and assistant coach of the Cameroon national team. At the same time, he served as a trainer for FIFA.

In 2001, he was appointed by FIFA and became the director of its development office for Central Africa. From that point on, he turned away from the national team to focus on developing sports infrastructure and policies in several African countries. In 2010, he was recruited by the Cameroonian government to lead the national technical direction of football.

Jean Manga Onguene leaves behind an impressive record. Elected African Ballon d'Or in 1980, he triumphed three times in the CAF Champions League in 1971, 1978, and 1980, and won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1979. Manga also led the Cameroon national team to victory at the Central African Games in Libreville in 1976. On the national level, he was crowned champion of Cameroon six times and won the Cameroon Cup six times. A goal scorer, Jean Manga Onguene was the top scorer at the Central African Games in Libreville in 1976 and the top scorer of the Cameroonian championship in 1970 and 1976.