Subject of an investigation by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and disavowed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Samuel Eto’o has seen the clouds gather over the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot), which he has presided over since the end of 2021. Let’s take a look back at a rather eventful summer.
In Cameroon, perhaps more than anywhere else in Africa, leading a football federation is anything but smooth sailing. Since taking over as President of Fécafoot at the end of 2021, Samuel Eto’o has experienced this firsthand every day. While controversy is never far from the former double winner of the Champions League, things have escalated and taken on a particularly perilous dimension for the former player during this summer of 2023. So much so that “SE9” now finds himself caught between two fires, political and judicial: the first was ignited by the Confederation of African Football, following complaints from several stakeholders in Cameroonian football, and the second by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which invalidated the General Assembly of Fécafoot through which Eto’o had consolidated his power. Let’s rewind.
CAF opens an investigation… and the fire starts
July had already been quite eventful, following the release of a video recording suggesting that the former striker had intervened to promote the promotion of Victoria United to the top division. On August 9, a statement from the Confederation of African Football set the Cameroonian football world ablaze. “CAF has received written requests from several stakeholders in Cameroonian football for the examination and investigation of certain alleged inappropriate behavior by Mr. Samuel Eto’o, President of the Cameroon Football Federation (…). CAF is reviewing these requests in accordance with the CAF Statutes and Regulations,” the statement announced. “Although the allegations are serious at first glance, Mr. Samuel Eto’o is presumed innocent until an appropriate judicial body concludes otherwise,” it further stated.
The statement did not provide further details about the precise origin of this referral to CAF or the exact scope of the upcoming investigations. However, it is difficult not to draw a connection to the aforementioned Victoria United case, which had prompted the Cameroonian Amateur Football Clubs Association (ACFAC) to notify FIFA and demand Samuel Eto’o’s immediate resignation. On August 11, forty-eight hours after the Confederation’s sensational announcement, Fécafoot, through its executive committee, finally responded officially. In a statement shared on its social media platforms, the organization presided over by Eto’o expressed its “surprise and outrage at such a step” taken by CAF, which had not deemed it necessary to officially inform them. According to the executive committee, which reaffirmed its “full confidence” and “unwavering support” for Samuel Eto’o but did not address the substance of the allegations, the Confederation had not followed the required procedures: “Such an attitude violates the principles of due process, respect for fairness, and sports ethics, which are essential in resolving disputes.”
CAS delivers another blow
While the CAF investigation sparked the first fire, a second one would ignite a few days later, fueling the atmosphere of settling scores at the top of Cameroonian football. On August 15, the Court of Arbitration for Sport delivered an unfavorable opinion to Samuel Eto’o by invalidating the General Assembly of the organization held on August 27, 2022. Excluded from Fécafoot’s executive committee, Guibaï Gattama, the former representative of the Far North region of the country, had appealed to the independent sports tribunal, along with other stakeholders and the Professional Football League of Cameroon (LFPC), which was dissolved during the said General Assembly (and replaced by a Transitional Council of Professional Football under the authority of Fécafoot, editor’s note). For President Eto’o, this is a severe blow: by declaring all decisions made during the famous General Assembly “null and void,” CAS has effectively erased one year of his term.
During this highly contested conclave, the term of the President of Fécafoot (Samuel Eto’o, therefore) had been extended to seven years, up from the previous four. The founding principles of the organization had also been amended. One of the most important articles of the code of ethics, which allowed the ethics committee to take up certain cases on its own initiative, had been removed. A significant consolation, however, is that Samuel Eto’o is not (yet?) directly threatened as the President of the Federation. “In the absence of a decision by the extraordinary general assembly of the Cameroon Football Federation on this matter, the conditions for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to declare a vacancy in the presidency are not currently met,” reads the final ruling of CAS. Nevertheless, Samuel Eto’o and his supporters will have to draw the consequences of this unfavorable decision by CAS and return to the previous situation.
A divisive figure, a disruptive approach
Beginning in a gentle euphoria at the end of 2021, carrying the hope of ending the divisions that plague Cameroonian football by putting the sport at the center of the issues, Samuel Eto’o’s tenure at the helm of Fécafoot has gradually become mired in controversies and disputes. Condemned by CAS to pay €1.6 million to former coach Toni Conceiçao, who was fired after the 2021 AFCON, embroiled in a dispute with his former equipment sponsor Le Coq Sportif, accused of using his image to promote sports betting (in contravention of FIFA rules), not to mention the exclusion of André Onana from the national team, the former Pichichi saw his former third vice-president at Fécafoot, Henri Njalla Quan Jr, spread accusations of lying, manipulation, and embezzlement in the columns of the Spanish sports daily Marca last month.
Divisive and viewed differently by international institutions (relations with CAF are tense, while the climate is more peaceful with FIFA under Infantino) and national entities (Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi is his sworn enemy, while close associates of the head of state support him), Samuel Eto’o is not afraid to challenge those who stand in his way, even if it means disregarding certain conventions. Is this disruptive approach still sustainable? This is one of the key questions in the coming weeks, during which the Indomitable Lions will play a decisive match against Burundi to secure their qualification for the upcoming AFCON.
Source: tv5monde