“Opopo must go up to the first division. That’s our goal.” these words, taken from several recordings broadcast on social networks, are controversial in Cameroon. And for good reason: one of the voices is supposed to be that of Samuel Eto’o, the ex-superstar of national football, who in December 2021 became president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot). The other is attributed to his friend Valentine Nkwain, president of Victoria United, a second division club also called “Opopo”.
” I’m tired. You told me in Douala that you are going to send me the referees”, complains the latter, regretting that his team loses matches. The voice lent to Samuel Eto’o promises a boost: “I will disbar this referee. I will summon the chairman of the referees. » Since this conversation, supposedly dated January, Opopo has had a string of successes, obtaining its place in the first division. Enough to raise suspicions of corruption.
Contacted by The world, Stéphane Foko Kamga, president of the central committee of referees of Fecafoot, did not follow up. Samuel Eto’o’s spokesman also did not wish to speak and refers to a press release by Valentine Nkwain published on July 20, in which he denies the facts. “I don’t recognize these audios, assures Mr. Nkwain, reached by telephone. I don’t know why all this sabotage is happening. I do not admit having had this conversation with the president of Fecafoot. I will take this matter to court. » According to him, if Samuel Eto’o is the target of criticism, it is because“He is really changing Cameroonian football”.
The governance of the former attacker is regularly controversial. Complaints have been filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in Lausanne, and with the High Court of Mfoundi, in Yaoundé, to challenge decisions taken by Fecafoot. Letters have been sent to the International Football Federation (FIFA), in particular to denounce the fact that Samuel Eto’o is an ambassador for a sports betting company.
Corruption, match fixing, mismanagement…
And the tension went up a notch with the suspension of Henry Njalla Quan, in July, from all football-related activity for ten years. Fecafoot blames its deposed vice-president “acts contrary to the prescriptions of the articles of association” of the institution.
But for Henry Njalla Quan, his setbacks are linked to his desire to take an interest in the federation’s sponsorship contracts. In a letter addressed in June to Samuel Eto’o, he says he told him of his “personal analysis of Cameroonian football, one year and six months after the start of our mandate”, and having drawn up a grim diagnosis of the situation: corruption, match-fixing, unjustified suspensions, financial and administrative mismanagement, violence in the stadiums, poor performance of national teams…
“Because of this letter, we sanctioned my club, which was playing in the semi-finals of the South-West regional league. Arbitration was used as a weapon to resolve the conflict. More than 40 of our actions have been whistled out of play,” he assures. Henry Njalla Quan claims to have provided “to the government, to the CAF [Confédération africaine de football], at FIFA and at Fecafoot” all the evidence that shows that “It was the president of Fecafoot who gave the orders for [son] team loses the match”.
“The situation of Cameroonian football is catastrophic. We supported Samuel Eto’o, but he disappointed us,” sighs one of the most famous club presidents in the country, who demands anonymity. For him, if the ancient Indomitable Lion remains “an icon to preserve, with indisputable added value”, its management ” lonely “ soccer “turns into a nightmare”. In his country where he was idolized, his image is in any case tarnished.