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It has been just over a year since fans of the New York Red Bulls had much reason to care about the Cameroon national team (unless, of course, you are a Cameroon and RBNY fan): Ambroise Oyongo was traded away to Montreal Impact at the end of January 2015.
The trade rather spoiled Oyongo's first experience of the Africa Cup of Nations, but the former Red Bull remains part of his national team set-up (he has accumulated 15 caps to date), which means he is part of Cameroon's current effort to qualify for AFCON's 2017 edition.
To do that, the Indomitable Lions must win Group M of AFCON qualifying, or finish as one of the top two group runners-up (there are 13 qualifying groups, so that isn't necessarily an easy task). So far, things are looking good for Cameroon: a pair of 1-0 wins (over Mauritania and Gambia) have put the Lions on top of their group with a perfect six points from two games played.
But the last of those games was played in September. One certainly grants Cameroon the courtesy of being considered favorite against South Africa, but things have changed a bit for the Lions recently.
Back in October 2015, the head coach who oversaw Cameroon's group stage exits from the 2014 World Cup and 2015 AFCON tournament - Volker Finke - was let go. He was replaced by Alexandre Belinga, announced as an interim appointment, but a steady enough hand to see the Lions through a 2018 World Cup qualifying series against Niger.
Belinga is now an assistant to Hugo Broos, a 63-year-old Belgian whose greatest successes as a coach were in the '90s with Club Brugge.
Appointed just over a month before these AFCON qualifiers, Broos has named a squad that combines players who established themselves in the team under Finke (Oyongo, 'keeper Fabrice Ondoa) with at least one who was thought to have quit the international scene for good - West Ham's Alex Song. And there are several new faces, Anatole Abang being merely the most notable for RBNY fans.
Indeed, fans of the New York Red Bulls might consider nurturing a steady affection for Cameroon: the current squad contains two former RBNY players - Oyongo and Columbus Crew's Tony Tchani - as well as the more familiar Harrison-based face (in recent times) of Abang.
Under a new coach, one assumes every player in the squad has a reasonable shot at establishing himself. So if you want to tune in to an AFCON qualifier on the off-chance it features a past or present Red Bull or two, here's where you'll find it...