Football - Cameroon: André Onana, Brys, Njitap, Bell... Samuel Eto'o settles scores

Cameroon football marked by the appointment of a new national coach to replace Belgium’s Marc Brys, the exclusion of several Indomitable Lions players in view of AFCON 2025 and the rise in institutional tensions with the Ministry of Sports, Samuel Eto'o chose Info TV to defend himself.

During a long interview broadcast on Monday evening, the president of Fécafoot gave his version of what he considers facts, oscillating between justifications, clarification and targeted attacks against certain actors on the issues that have been poisoning Cameroonian football for years.

Onana, «a child who sees things differently»

Among the topics discussed, the case of André Onana occupied a central place, as the "divorce" now seems irreversible with the president of the Fécafoot. The two men, long described as a fusion duo where Eto'o played the role of 'father' and Onana that of 'son', are no longer in the odor of sanctity. The break-up is such that some already interpret the non-selection of the Trabzonspor keeper for the next AFCON as a direct consequence of this disagreement. And it is precisely on this ground that Samuel Eto'o chose to explain himself, with a mixture of bitterness and justification.

“I don’t have a problem [with Onana], even though I was disappointed by certain situations”

Faced with accusations relayed by the player’s entourage, Eto'o suggested that his former protégé would be solely responsible for his exclusion. Onana would be, according to some allusions made by the president of the Fécafoot, a troublemaker within the Lion’s den. Eto'o talks about friction between Onana and former coach Rigobert Song during the 2022 World Cup, and even with his teammate Zambo Anguissa. Without more details.

"I don’t have a problem [with Onana], even if I was disappointed by certain situations," says Eto'o. "I’ve made this journey before," he says again. I have had a lot of betrayals in my life and that is not betrayal. He is a child who sees things differently and I tell myself that maybe one day, he will understand that what he was doing was not good.''

«I didn’t fire anyone»

On the hot issue of the coach, the president of Fécafoot adopted an extremely political line of defense: it was not him who sacked Brys, but administrative logic. "I did not fire anyone, he hammered. This gentleman [Marc Brys] belongs to a [ministerial] department. We have taken our responsibilities." Clearly, Brys would be a technician under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports, therefore outside the field of competence of the Fécafoot. An argument that maintains confusion and confirms the depth of the institutional standoff.

Geremi Njitap: frontal accusations

 
The most direct attacks are aimed at Geremi Njitap, president of the National Union of Football Players of Cameroon (Synafoc) and former footballer. Eto'o accuses him of having sabotaged the participation of Bamboutos de Mbouda in African competitions by sending a case against Fécafoot to CAF. 

"The president of this union presented me as someone who had problems with the president of Bamboutos," argues Eto'o. For him, the problem was elsewhere: 

"Mr. Njitap wanted us to be eliminated. He wanted to be in this position [of president of the Fécafoot] without working,"

 says the former FC Barcelona player. These accusations mark an open rupture between two former glories of Cameroonian football, today at daggers drawn on governance issues.

Joseph-Antoine Bell: A «brilliant mediocre»

The exchange hits roof top when he mentions Joseph-Antoine Bell, without really naming him. 

"There is a senior for whom I had a lot of esteem. Excellent goalkeeper at a time in our lives", he will say to refer to a Bell who rarely misses the opportunity to express himself on the management of the Fécafoot. Eto'o accuses the former goalkeeper of building his critics on "a biased analysis" before concluding dryly: "He is brilliant in that, but he is mediocre."

In detail, Eto'o explains:

 "He felt that someone [like me] who had just finished his classes could not lead [the Fécafoot]. But when you are an overachiever, you can give rehearsal lessons to the one who is on the same bench as you.”