The president of Fécafoot Samuel Eto'o revealed on Monday that the 560 million CFA francs representing the state subsidy to professional clubs remained blocked by state officials. The Ministry of Finance said the funds have been paid to the Federation months ago.
In Cameroon, the business of football and money is a passionate one. A little misplacement of words can have unsuspected consequences. On 27 June, Samuel Eto'o drew the attention of the press and national opinion to the fact that the state subsidy, intended for clubs in professional leagues, remains blocked by senior state officials. While the Presidency of the Republic has instructed the Minister of Sports to proceed with the payment of 560 million CFA francs (nearly 860 thousand euros) to the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot).
"As I speak to you (Monday 27 June), this money is still blocked by some obscure forces lurking in the meanders of our senior administration. These people, who will recognize themselves, have sworn to make our national football project fail, for reasons that I do not know the ins and outs," said the boss of Cameroonian football. An exit that caused strong reactions within the state apparatus. Notably at the Ministry of Finance where some voices assure that the president of Fécafoot would be far from the facts. In a note sent the next day (June 28, Editor's note) to the Minister of Finance of Cameroon, the Paymaster of the General Division of the Treasury, Financial and Monetary Cooperation reveals what seems to be the truth about the payment of the said subsidy.
550 million paid in April 2022?
"In execution of instructions and according to the means at my disposal, the sum of five hundred and fifty million (550,000,000) CFA francs has been the subject of successive partial payments to the Accounting Officer of Fecafoot, between 18 and 27 April 2022," wrote the Paymaster. This executive of the civil service reveals in passing that "in addition, in view of the urgency reported, these payments were made by cash advance, pending the consequent budget coverage. There would therefore remain only 10 million CFA francs to be paid to the Fécafoot where the networks of unofficial communicators have been in action since the beginning of this Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
According to some supporters of the president of Fécafoot in the Cameroonian sports press, it was only in the afternoon of Tuesday, June 28, 2022 that the 550 million in question would have landed in the coffers of the Federation. And not in April as indicated by the Paymaster at the General Division of the Treasury, Financial and Monetary Cooperation. The fact remains that Fécafoot has not publicly confirmed this last minute "information". This leaves room for the controversy that continues to swell on social networks. One thing is certain, Fecafoot or the Ministry of Finance, one of the two parties has not told the truth. But who is it?
