Michael Ngadeu says author of Cameroon’s Hilton letter remains unknown

More than 18 months after Cameroon’s players publicly addressed the crisis surrounding their national team, Michael Ngadeu says nobody knows who wrote the statement delivered at the Hilton Hotel in Yaounde.

Ngadeu discussed the episode during a recent Facebook live broadcast with Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu. Their light-hearted exchange revisited one of the most controversial moments in the recent history of the Indomitable Lions.

“Until today, we do not know who wrote the letter,” Ngadeu said. “We came across it and read it, but we do not know the author.”

Ngamaleu backed that account, with both players saying they had simply seen and read the document rather than having taken part in writing it.

The comments have nevertheless revived discussion on social media. A reference to “Kassongo” – a nickname associated with Andre Onana – was interpreted by some users as a possible allusion to the Cameroon goalkeeper.

There is no evidence, however, that Ngadeu or Ngamaleu identified Onana as the writer. Their remarks were ambiguous and did not amount to a direct accusation.

The statement was issued on 24 March 2025, on the eve of Cameroon’s crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Libya.

The Indomitable Lions had called a news conference at their base at the Hilton Hotel in Yaounde. With his team-mates around him, captain Vincent Aboubakar read a statement calling for calm between the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) and the Ministry of Sports.

The players also criticised the tensions affecting their preparations and called for Joachim Mununga, Marc Brys’ assistant, to be allowed to return to the bench.

The intervention was widely viewed as support for Belgian manager Brys during his dispute with Fecafoot president Samuel Eto’o. It further deepened the divisions surrounding the national team.

Relations between Eto’o and several senior players, including Ngadeu, Aboubakar and Onana, deteriorated significantly afterwards. The trio were later left out of the squad during the major changes made before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, although it would be difficult to attribute their omissions solely to the Hilton affair.

They are now persona non grata with the national team, according to the source article.

Nineteen months after the players’ declaration, the identity of the letter’s author remains a subject of debate. Ngadeu and Ngamaleu’s joking discussion has added fresh intrigue, but the writer remains unknown to the wider public.