FECAFOOT isn’t cash strapped-Director of football development.

There have been claims from some quarters that FECAFOOT has not been able to honour several of its financial engagements because its coffers are empty.

This engagements which FECAFOOT haven’t been able to meet on time include, payment of service providers, disbursement of subvention to professional clubs, payment of Coton Sport league title prize money for the last football season among others.

However, in an outing on private television channel, Canal 2 International, Happi stated that such claims are unfounded, adding that the football institution isn’t cash strapped.

“I occupy a very important position at the federation and can say that we do not have these problems which people are talking about out there. No action can achieve unanimity. It is quite normal that seen from the outside, there are dissenting voices, but I can guarantee you that at the federation, we have no problem.

The federation has a budget of 15 billion FCFA and the sponsorship envelope for clubs is one-fifth of the federation’s contribution,” Happi said.

He went on to say Cameroon is yet to receive its participation bonus for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“Cameroon participated at the 2022 World Cup but we are yet to receive our participation bonus. Are we going to go out to the streets and shout at the top of our voices that we have not yet been paid? Like in any organisation, there are delays in getting one or two things done” the football administrator continued.

Subvention to clubs

What has been at the origin of speculations that FECAFOOT is facing financial difficulties, sparked from the delay in the disbursement of second installment of subvention promised clubs by the football body.

FECAFOOT had prior to the start of the Elite One and Two Championships for the 2022/2023 season, announced that each Elite One club was going to receive 48 million FCFA as subvention and 23 million FCFA each was going to be given for Elite Two clubs.

However, until late last month, only 11 million FCFA had been paid out to each club in the Elite One and 6 million FCFA each for clubs in Elite Two.

The dire financial situation of clubs made it difficult for the various clubs to meet up with the payment of salaries of their players and other team officials.

As a result of this, players of some of the clubs either went on strike or threatened strike actions.

The clubs were on FECAFOOT’s throat, threatening to stop the championship if the financial engagements weren’t respected.

Frank Happi during his outing on Canal 2, stated the clubs which are complaining are those that have not yet justified the first installment received from FECAFOOT.

He said this concerns just six or seven of the 22 clubs in Elite One and three in Elite Two.

Happi went on to say that as it stands, each Elite One club has received 33.5 million FCFA with the remaining 14.5 million FCFA to be paid few days before the end of the championship.

As for Elite Two club, the football administrator said as it stands, each club has pocketed 18. 5 million with the payment of the remaining 4.5 million FCFA in the pipeline.

Dissenting voices from hotel owners

During the 2021/2022 football season, FECAFOOT organised the Elite One Championship in just four cities of the country(Yaounde, Douala, Limbe & Bafoussam).

During the season, players and officials of the clubs competing in the league had to be lodged and fed in hotels whose services where engaged by the football body.

Since the league ended, FECAFOOT has been unable to effect full payment for the services rendered to the clubs by some of these hotels.

The hotel managers have come out on several occasion to decry the non-payment of their services.

In guise of justification, Frank Happi said on the TV debate program that overbilling accounts for the delay in the bills till moment.

Coton Sport 50 million FCFA prize money

Coton Sport of won the Elite One championship last season and was supposed to go home with 50 million FCFA being prize money for triumphing in the championship.

It took FECAFOOT close to six months to disburse just half of the money to the club, with the remaining 25 million FCFA still pending.

This also a pointer to the financial situation at the football governing body.