Samuel Eto’o’s FIFA backing puts renewed focus on Cameroon football funds

Samuel Eto’o’s public support for Gianni Infantino has intensified scrutiny of the FIFA silence surrounding payments made to the Fecafoot president’s personal account in connection with a Cameroon friendly in Russia.

The financial controversy is not new. Reports in Cameroon had already raised questions about a payment of 455,056 euros linked to the Russia-Cameroon match in October 2023. But details published by The Times have brought the matter back into the spotlight, while also highlighting the absence of any known response from FIFA.

According to The Times, a second payment of 112,514 euros was made to Samuel Eto’o’s personal account at Qatar National Bank in Doha. More than 567,000 euros connected to the organisation of the friendly are therefore reported to have passed through the account.

Eto’o’s representatives previously said the arrangement was necessary to find a banking solution while international sanctions against Russia were in place.

Fecafoot recently issued a lengthy statement defending its handling of the funds. The federation said decisions over the collection and use of money generated by friendly matches had been taken collectively by its vice-presidents during emergency committee meetings.

It also described the criticism as a campaign of “defamation, slander and insults” and threatened legal action.

On the information currently available, there is no basis for concluding that funds were misappropriated.

The main source of concern is the lack of a known response from FIFA’s ethics committee. Guibai Gatama, a former member of the Fecafoot executive committee, says he is not aware of any accounting or banking document showing that the money was later transferred to an official federation account or entered into Fecafoot’s accounts.

Former officials have also said they referred the matter to FIFA’s ethics committee more than a year ago, but have received no information about whether any action was taken.

Gatama believes some people in Cameroon interpret the silence as evidence of political or institutional protection for Eto’o. However, that remains an accusation made by his opponents, and there is no evidence that FIFA is protecting the Fecafoot president.

The timing has nevertheless attracted attention. In a recent interview with France 24, Eto’o openly backed Infantino, who is seeking to continue as FIFA president.

The former Barca striker said he wanted to persuade all 54 African federation presidents to vote for the Italian-Swiss official.

Eto’o has also recently supported the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which includes proposals to open up certain commercial assets connected to the World Cup to private investors.

It would be speculative to claim that those positions are linked to the absence of a known response from FIFA’s ethics committee. Their coincidence, however, is likely to fuel further criticism from Eto’o’s opponents.

The financial questions, the numerous disputes during his tenure and his involvement in international football politics have left the “number nine” as one of African football’s most influential and divisive figures.