Belgian Hugo Broos has been confirmed as the new Cameroon national soccer team coach according to the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT).

The tactician replaces German Volker Finke, whose contract was not extended in October last year in anticipation of a new coach being announced.

Finke was not a popular figure for the most part, with Cameroon’s failure to progress from the group stages of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) placing a great deal of blame on the shoulders of the German.

Broos previously coached in his native Belgium, as well as Greece, Qatar, Turkey and Algeria, but he is not experienced in national team football.

He has won Belgian league titles with both Club Brugge and Anderlecht, and has been named Belgium’s Coach of the Year four times.

Belgian Sven Vandenbroek will be Broos’ assistant in the Imdomitable Lions fold, with Alexandre Belinga (who has been in charge in a temporary capacity) forming part of the technical team.

Broos’ first priority will be home and away matches against South Africa in AFCON qualifying that will take place in March. The 63-year-old will also prepare his team for a friendly international against France which is set for May.

Cameroon beat Niger 3-0 on aggregate in a two-legged World Cup qualifier late last year, and later in 2016 those qualification matches will continue for the Indomitable Lions, with a place at Russia 2018 on the line.

Cameroon is a favourite for many neutral supporters in Africa, because of their history at the World Cup, having qualified seven times for the competition, more than any other African team, while they were also the first African side to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, in 1990. This record still remains, though it is now shared with Senegal and Ghana.