After an eventful week that saw president Samuel Eto'o cleared of wrongdoing by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as well as further escalations of tension between Eto'o and Cameroon national team coach Marc Brys, the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) still has plenty to deal with.
The threat of sanctions from FIFA continue to weigh heavily on FECAFOOT due to the prolonged case involving former Cameroon coach Toni Conceição. The Portuguese trainer was swiftly released from his contract in 2022 upon the ascension of Eto'o to the position of FECAFOOT president, after which the Cameroonian football legend hired former national teammate Rigobert Song.
Conceição promptly took FECAFOOT through the appeal process with world football body FIFA, who awarded the 63-year-old coach nearly $2 million at the expense of FECAFOOT which still has yet to be paid. With sanctions already being imposed by FIFA including the withholding of 20% of development funds, the stress of the situation is exposing the divided leadership of Cameroonian football.
Cameroon is one of several African countries in which decision making duties regarding football are divided between the federation and a government body, in this case FECAFOOT and Cameroon's Ministry of Sports and Physical Education (MINSEP). The chasm in unity between the federation and MINSEP was exposed when MINSEP appointed current Cameroon coach Marc Brys after no consultation with FECAFOOT, leading to a very public display of tension caught on camera when Brys and Eto'o first met.
And now this tension continues to be exposed in public with the Conceição affair. In FECAFOOT's recalling of the dismissal of the coach in a public statement obtained by Cameroonian outlet Camfoot, the organization claims that the decision to sack Conceição was done entirely by MINSEP with the consent of Cameroon President Paul Biya.
In its public statement, FECAFOOT cites the previous departures of multiple national team coaches in this fashion and absolves itself of responsibility regarding Conceição whose dismissal was entirely done by the government according to FECAFOOT.
With FIFA threatening FECAFOOT with more severe sanctions (including possible suspension of the national team from competitions) if the fine is not paid to Conceição, there remains a lot to be sorted out. Regardless, the Conceição affair as well as the controversy around current Cameroon coach Marc Brys is a uniquely African example of how divided leadership can be financially costly as well as damaging to the public trust.
Comments