CAF : Samuel Eto’o’s candidacy rejected for the post of member of the executive committee, a predictable setback for the president of Fecafoot
No surprise, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected Samuel Eto’o’s candidacy for a position on its executive committee, which will be renewed next March. The former striker of the Indomitable Lions and current president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot) had hoped to succeed his compatriot Seidou Mbombo Njoya on the CAF executive committee. However, this ambition was abruptly halted by the CAF Governance Committee, which declared his candidacy inadmissible due to irregularities.
According to Cameroonian media, Samuel Eto’o is under sanctions from the FIFA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee for incidents that occurred during the U-20 World Cup in Colombia. Furthermore, CAF had already sanctioned him last July due to his controversial collaboration with the online betting platform 1XBet.
Despite this disqualification, Eto’o remains determined to continue his fight. He states that several bodies still need to rule on his case and that he has the necessary evidence to prove his innocence. “No one can prevent me from being a candidate as long as I’m not convicted. We have the proof to defend ourselves”, he reiterated.
Meanwhile, his rival Seidou Mbombo Njoya, the current vice-president of CAF and close to president Patrice Motsepe, will also be unable to run for re-election. Fécafoot, under Eto’o’s leadership, had refused to give him the recommendation letter required to validate his candidacy.
As a result, no Cameroonian will sit on the next CAF executive committee, a significant blow to the country’s influence in the governance of continental football. This rejection confirms the difficulties Eto’o faces in asserting his authority beyond national borders.
