Samuel Eto’o at the center of a furious affair once more

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), which Samuel Eto’o has headed over since 2021, is the subject of accusations of misappropriation, putting him at the center of controversy once more.

Following a friendly match between Cameroon and Russia in October 2023, the Russian Football Federation allegedly paid money to a private bank account, supposedly owned by Samuel Eto’o himself, rather than to FECAFOOT, according to reports in the Cameroonian press.

Social media leaks of documents seem to verify wire payments to a Qatari personal account. International sanctions on Russia, which have impacted SWIFT transactions since the takeover of Crimea in 2014 and have gotten worse in 2022, are the reason why FECAFOOT issued a statement asserting that it had approved the usage of Samuel Eto’o’s personal account. The federation claims that using an account in Qatar was regarded as a safe solution.

But in Cameroon, this explanation has generated a great deal of suspicion. Numerous news organizations and commentators have questioned why FECAFOOT never received the money and why this kind of solution would be required in the first place. The crisis surrounding Eto’o’s presidency is only made worse by this latest incident, since he is already coming under increasing fire for his leadership and past scandals.