Cameroon: Samuel Eto'o and the government pulling in opposite directions
Fecafoot and the government are at odds. Marc Brys's appointment as head coach has gone down badly with Samuel Eto'o
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Is Cameroonian football heading straight for a major crisis? Very probably. While Samuel Eto’o, elected president of the Cameroonian Football Federation in December 2021, is already fighting on several fronts internally, another has just opened up this Tuesday, 2 April, with the appointment of a new head coach. The naming of Marc Brys to replace Rigobert Song has, understandably, gone down very badly within the Federation. The body that runs Cameroonian football apparently was not consulted over the choice of the 61-year-old Belgian coach, even though it is the body with the prerogative to appoint a national team coach. Fecafoot has denounced this breach of the rules in a statement.
"The Cameroonian Football Federation learned, at the same time as all Cameroonians, of the appointments to positions of responsibility within the men's senior national team. Fecafoot expresses its great astonishment at this act, which runs counter to the terms of Decree No. 2014/384 of 26 July 2014 on the organisation and functioning of the national football teams," said the body led by the legend Samuel Eto’o.
Fecafoot clearly does not intend to stop at this statement of outrage. "This unilateral decision comes at the very moment when Fecafoot has agreed to follow the instructions of the President of the Republic by offering its full cooperation in order to reach a calming of tensions that will benefit the future of our dear Indomitable Lions. FECAFOOT intends to shed light on this regrettable situation, and it will communicate without delay on the response it intends to give," wrote the Cameroonian Football Federation.
The consequences could be dire for Cameroonian football if Fecafoot and the state authorities cannot find common ground. FIFA could indeed sanction Cameroon for government interference and suspend the Indomitable Lions from all competitions, and ultimately install a normalisation committee, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That may be the hidden wish of certain state authorities seeking to get rid of Samuel Eto'o.