Samuel Eto’o says African football interests sparked wave of criticism

Samuel Eto’o has accused European media of launching a coordinated attack against him after he spoke out in support of Africa’s influence and independence in world football.

The president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) made the claims in a post on Facebook, linking the recent reports about him to his public positions on the future of African football.

“It was enough for me to speak out to defend our interests, the interests of Africa, for them all to come out,” Eto’o wrote.

He suggested that the criticism had followed a common line and had been organised across several outlets.

“By coincidence, the same attacks, the same talking points, relayed almost simultaneously by journalists who are aligned with them,” he added.

The former Cameroon striker also challenged the attitude of European observers who, he said, frequently lecture African countries on democratic principles.

“Those who spend their time giving us lessons in democracy seem to have much more difficulty accepting it when an African speaks freely,” said Eto’o.

He concluded: “We have the right to think and make decisions for our football.”

Eto’o has used similar arguments throughout his playing career and since becoming Fecafoot president, regularly insisting that Africans should defend their own interests rather than accept criticism from outside the continent.

That position can carry weight when assessments of African football in Europe are condescending or disconnected from local realities, as has often been the case. Some French and wider European media outlets have also taken a consistently critical view of Eto’o.

However, the latest opposition to his stance extends beyond the European press.

His recent support for Gianni Infantino, and particularly for the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise project, has also prompted criticism in Africa. Eto’o recently said he wanted to persuade the 54 presidents of African football federations to back Infantino.

At the same time, he supported FIFA Forward Enterprise, a position that has further damaged the reputation of Infantino, whose popularity had already suffered a significant decline since June last year. That followed the “peace prize” awarded to Donald Trump and Infantino’s conduct during the World Cup.

The renewed scrutiny comes as an old financial dispute involving the Russia-Cameroon friendly in October 2023 has re-emerged in the British press.

Fecafoot has defended the legality of its financial management, saying decisions over the funds were taken collectively. Former officials, however, say they referred the matter to the FIFA ethics committee more than a year ago and have received no known response.

There is currently no evidence linking that lack of a response to Eto’o’s support for Infantino.

But the wider controversy is also difficult to portray solely as a campaign by the European media. Eto’o’s political choices within global football have become a subject of debate in Africa as well.

The dispute represents another media battle for the former Cameroon number nine, who appears determined to frame his position as part of a broader fight for the sovereignty of African football.