FECAFOOT: Cameroon washes dirty linen in Switzerland!.

This time FECAFOOT's opponents in court are not coaches, not equipment suppliers, or Cameroonian National Footballers' Union, as has been in the past, since Eto'o Fils became President of FECAFOOT.

His opponents are the Cameroon Association of Football Referees. Their grievances are that they were excluded by FECAFOOT, in the controversial Elective General Assembly, that re-elected Eto'o Fils, for a second mandate on August 7, 2025.

They also complained of being excluded from the entire electoral process at the Divisional and Regional levels; because they dared to demand payment of an outstanding referee compensation.

The media is reporting that it amounts to some 400 million FCFA.

In such a situation, they are arguing that the FECAFOOT Elective General Assembly that saw the reelection of Eto'o Fils without them, should be declared null and void. FECAFOOT lawyers in defense, stated before the Court that the organisation and the election results in Divisions and Regions to get delegates to the assembly were not subject to appeal as they were organised by Divisional and Regional leagues, not FECAFOOT.

They posited further that the sub leagues are "autonomous", which should be held accountable for excluding referees not FECAFOOT. 

Relying on that technical plank means they didn't want to go into the substance of the complaints. They submitted that the matter should be ruled "inadmissible".

FECAFOOT supported its objection, with claims that the Court, which holds supreme judicial power in football, acting as the final arbiter for disputes within the sport, had no jurisdiction.

But last week, the Court with authority to resolve issues involving FIFA, CAF, UEFA, national associations, clubs, referees, coaches and players deemed the appeal admissible.

FECAFOOT will now have to go into the defense, in an issue that in its proceedings implicates both the ministries of Territorial Administration and that of Sports and Physical Education.

Last year's elective assembly that is the onus of the dispute in which Eto'o Fils had 85 out of 87 votes, took place in a tense atmosphere. It was marked by an unprecedented power struggle. 

MINAT was called in to impose a truce, following a letter from the supervisory ministry, MINSEP, requesting its "...competent services, throughout the national territory, to ban all constituent and/or elective assemblies in the field of football, including the one planned by FECAFOOT, for November 29, 2025, in Mbankomo”, near Yaounde.

The MINSEP gave the reasons for requesting the proscription as violation of various relevant texts prescribed for "an inclusive, consensual and peaceful framework by the President of FECAFOOT, who has continued with the electoral process".

The sports ministry warned that “...several players are threatening to disrupt the aforementioned meeting...the multiple protests and parallel actions, against a backdrop of the crisis, listed above, threaten public order in general and sporting public order in particular".

It added that: "The protective measure of ban requested thus contributes to the maintenance and preservation of peace and social cohesion, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Republic. It in no way calls into question the rules of football's governing bodies, which oblige member associations to respect the laws of the States and to observe the principles of non-discrimination, equal opportunities, neutrality, transparency and openness in electoral processes”.

MINAT did not only ignore the request from its peer but went ahead to send the Divisional Officer of Mbankomo, Ebella Ngambi Vichy, in whose jurisdiction the election took place, to be present.

In a speech which articulated critics classified as "humiliating and disgracing the government" Eto'o Fils used a military parody. “...if the Lieutenant [MINSEP] thinks he can be the General or the Minister of Defense, then something is seriously wrong.

"On this day of change, on this day of justice, this day when the rule of law prevailed above all, I would like to thank you." 

But was it law to disqualify all other contestants? Was it legality to snub directives from its supervisory authority?

Can FECAFOOT at Divisional, Regional and national levels really claim "autonomy," when it has to go to the government to beg for subvention?

Can FECAFOOT succeed without collaboration with the government, represented by MINSEP and the provider of infrastructure?

The FECAFOOT election proscribed by its supervisory ministry and authorised by MINAT, was a reflection of a government at odds with itself and doing its laundering in public.

It has been extended to Switzerland, where FECAFOOT will have to explain why some paramount stakeholders were excluded from an Elective General Assembly.

The matter would have been resolved in Yaounde, if the two ministries had collaborated to ensure an inclusive Elective General Assembly; without meddling in the affairs of the association. 

It has gone out of national hands. It amplies a complex narrative that defies easy categorisation in an era of numtus economic, political and security challenges.

Whatever the outcome of the case in Lausanne, Switzerland, the loser will be Cameroon. 

It did not heed the French proverb that "Il faut laver son linge sale en famille" (One should wash one's dirty linen at home"), famously attributed to Napoleon.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3787 of Tuesday May 12, 2026