Samuel Eto’o emerges as possible challenger to Patrice Motsepe for CAF presidency

Samuel Eto’o is reportedly considering a bid to succeed Patrice Motsepe as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), amid growing uncertainty over the South African’s future in the role.

The CAF executive committee is expected to confirm next month that the Africa Cup of Nations will return to a two-year cycle, according to The Guardian. The decision could further damage confidence in Motsepe’s leadership, with most federation presidents reportedly unaware that he intended to announce the proposed change before it was raised at last week’s strategic conference.

Motsepe, a South African billionaire, is not currently expected to seek another term, despite retaining considerable popularity across the continent. He said publicly at the end of July that he would not stand for re-election.

His prospects of remaining in office could depend partly on his relationship with Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Relations between the two men reportedly cooled after CAF allowed Somali referee Omar Artan to officiate in the UEFA Super Cup final in August, despite Artan having been prevented from entering the United States during the 2026 World Cup.

However, their relationship is understood to have improved in recent weeks as Infantino seeks to strengthen his support in Africa.

Potential challengers are therefore believed to be trying to secure Infantino’s backing in the event that Motsepe is persuaded to step down before his current mandate expires in 2029.

Among those who could be interested is Samuel Eto’o, president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot). Eto’o publicly backed Infantino at the end of August.

The other potential candidates reportedly include Idriss Diallo, president of the Ivorian Football Federation, as well as Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania and Souleiman Waberi of Djibouti. Both Yahya and Waberi oppose the return of the Africa Cup of Nations to a biennial schedule.

A further route would be to challenge Motsepe’s position through CAF’s statutory procedures. Such a move could be initiated by a written request supported by at least two-thirds of the members of the executive committee.

Although he has not acknowledged it publicly, Eto’o is said to remain privately convinced that he could one day lead CAF.