Samuel Eto’o (42) has handed in his resignation as president of the Cameroon FA following the numerous accusations against him. However, the responsible committee refused
The 2024 Africa Cup was a disappointment for Cameroon. The national team was eliminated in the round of 16 against Nigeria, Karl Toko Ekambi, one of the top performers, resigned from the team afterwards – and the reports surrounding the country’s soccer icon overshadowed the tournament.
Samuel Eto’o, once Africa’s Footballer of the Year four times and the country’s association president since 2021, resigned from his post on Monday. This is according to a press release sent out by the association late in the evening. The reason for this was a meeting of the executive committee in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, at which the national team’s performance at the tournament in Côte d’Ivoire was to be reviewed
Eto’o wants to resign but is not allowed to
“At the beginning of this meeting, President Samuel Eto’o tendered his resignation to the members of the committee and asked them to comply,” the statement reads. “At the end of the following discussions, the members of the Executive Committee decided to maintain the current composition and unanimously rejected the resignation of the President. In doing so, they expressed their confidence in him to continue to drive forward the restructuring and development of Cameroonian soccer with the same spirit at all levels.”
It is not clear from the press release whether Eto’o’s resignation was due to his poor performance under his chosen national team coach Rigobert Song or because of the increasingly loud accusations against him. New allegations of corruption have shaken his image in the recent past, and he caused a scandal at the 2022 World Cup when he physically attacked an Algerian YouTuber in front of the cameras.
In the meantime, FIFA has opened a dossier on the conditions in the Cameroonian association, excerpts of which were published last week by the portal “The Athletic”. Former opponents accuse Eto’o of having driven them to ruin. There is also talk of match-fixing. Eto’o denies all allegations
