By Mizuh Ignatius Mbah BBC Sport Online in Yaounde

Japan has said it is interested in helping Cameroonian football solve its infrastructure crisis by renovating its stadia.

"We've solicited the council of Oita to construct one or two football fields for us," disclosed Iya Mohamed, head of the Cameroon federation, Fecafoot, at a press briefing in Yaounde.

Fecafoot hopes that the Japanese council would quickly release the funds.

During the 2002 World Cup, the Cameroon Special Fund for Council Management, Feicom, sent an eleven-man delegation to Japan to lobby for assistance from the Japanese government.

The Japanese government had previously offered funds to Cameroon to help it improve the condition of educational facilities in the country.

Japan spent money on building 50 schools, with 616 fully equipped classrooms in three provinces - Littorial, Centre and South.

Timely aid

Since the World Cup, the Japanese government has been strengthening its relations with Cameroon, especially in sports and culture.

Japan took an interest in Cameroon's football when former Lions skipper Stephen Tataw ended his soccer career there.

Striker Patrick Mboma later joined the J-League and enthralled Japanese fans with his talent.

Japan's aid comes at a timely moment, as inadequate infrastructure is being attributed as the main cause of the country's inability to produce a stream of local talent.