Cameroon football was plunged deeper into trouble on Tuesday when a meeting between football federation president Samuel Eto’o and the country’s new Belgian coach Marc Brys devolved into an acrimonious clash.
It was Eto’o’s first meeting with Brys, who was appointed by the country’s sports minister in early April with no consultation from the Cameroon Football Federation, resulting in a standoff between the two.
Brys had been invited to a “working session” by Eto’o as Cameroon prepares for World Cup qualifiers next month, but some of his support personnel, also selected by the sports ministry, were denied admission to the FECAFOOT federation facility in Yaoundé.
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Eto’o furiously booted out a ministry official who wanted to attend the meeting, followed by a heated confrontation with Brys, who departed immediately.
FECAFOOT is scheduled to issue a comment later, after first criticising the Belgian’s nomination as a unilateral action by sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombito.
Normally, the football federation appoints and pays its coaches, but in some African countries, the government does so, especially when federations are financially stressed.
Former African Footballer of the Year Eto’o, who had a storied career playing in Europe, has attempted to express some independence while also treading carefully in a country where football-related issues are a top concern for the government.
Long-time Cameroonian president Paul Biya has frequently intervened in team issues, most notably insisting that 38-year-old Roger Milla be included in the 1990 World Cup roster.
The experienced striker went on to score crucial goals as Cameroon became the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals.
Cameroon has qualified for eight World Cup competitions, more than any other African country, making the Indomitable Lions one of the nation’s most valuable assets.
They will play the Cape Verde Islands in Yaounde on June 8 and Angola three days later in their most recent qualifying games for the 2026 North American finals.
They beat Mauritius at home and drew away with Libya in their first two Group D qualifiers in November under Rigobert Song, whose contract was not renewed after Cameroon was eliminated in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations finals in January.