Wilfried Nathan Doualla, a member of Cameroon's squad for the African Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire in January, has been suspected by Fécafoot for "double identity". This sanction has serious consequences for the Indomitable Lions' participation in the next AFCON.
An event shook up the world of Cameroonian soccer on March 10, 2024. No, it wasn't the celebration of Samuel Eto'o's 43rd birthday. Rather, it was the publication of a list of 62 players suspended by the national federation. One of the names on this list has caught the eye: Wilfried Nathan Doualla. The midfielder of Victoria United, a club in the local first division championship, was nabbed for "double identity".The news quickly spread around the world. Could it be otherwise?
Wilfried Nathan Douala is not a player like the others. He is the youngest footballer to have taken part in the last African Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire.On paper, that is. After all, on his data sheet, the man many Cameroonians have hailed as a "crack" is only... 17. And yet, in January 2022, the newspaper Le Monde met and photographed a player who bore an uncanny resemblance to him. His name: Alexandre Bardelli Doualla. Age: 21. But the tattoos on the legs and arms of both, and a scar above the right eye "prove that it's the same man", concludes Le Monde. Like Fécafoot, no doubt.
Eto'o crusades against age fraud
Wilfried Nathan's club has lodged a complaint with Fécafoot.Victoria United maintains that Nathan does not have a double identity "as the Federation claims". The spokesman for the president of Fécafoot, on the other hand, has long been clear: "Mr Eto'o's main hobbyhorse is civil status.We no longer want to see a 25-year-old playing for the U17s", Ernest Obama recently hammered home on a local TV channel. Still, the "Wilfried Nathan Doualla affair" is causing indignation among the Cameroonian press.
"Fécafoot has been used to scandals for two years now but this is a new level. The player in question has a license issued by Fécafoot at the start of the season. He played in the championship. He even went to the AFCON 2023. Now, three months later, Fécafoot realizes that he has a double identity", asks Caristan Isseri.
Risk of disqualification for AFCON 2025
For this Cameroonian journalist based in France, the culprit is obvious: "The administration under Samuel Eto'o is either inconsistent or incompetent. It's healthy to want to clean up the civil registry, but the problem should have been tackled at the start of the season". All the more so as Cameroon's participation in the AFCON 2025 is now in serious jeopardy as a result of this affair.
Articles 45 and 46 of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations regulations stipulate that any association found guilty of "fraud and/or falsification of documents by any means and/or medium whatsoever" in the previous competition will be eliminated from the next two AFCONs. Article 47 stipulates that: "For any administrative error in player registration, the national association concerned shall be suspended from participation in the next edition of the AFCON, and its team shall be eliminated from the competition if it is still in progress".
