The Cameroon football federation (FECAFOOT) has rebuffed Samuel Eto’o’s resignation as president amidst swirling allegations of misconduct and corruption.
The former Barcelona forward tendered his resignation on Monday, following Cameroon’s disappointing exit from the AFCON last-16 stage at the hands of Nigeria.
As per ESPN reports, Eto’o expressed his intention to resign during an executive committee meeting convened to evaluate the team’s underwhelming AFCON campaign, while also urging other Fecafoot members to consider the same course of action in the spirit of transparency.
Fecafoot subsequently issued a statement asserting the rejection of Eto’o’s resignation, stating:
“At the end of discussions and subsequent deliberations, the members of the executive committee decided to maintain their current mandates and thus unanimously rejected the president’s resignation, thereby renewing their confidence in him to continue with the same spirit of reconstruction and development of Cameroon football at all levels as envisaged in his plan adopted by the elective general assembly of Dec. 11, 2021.”
Despite facing serious allegations over the past year, Eto’o has garnered support from his Fecafoot peers. Recently, The Athletic reported on WhatsApp exchanges and audio recordings allegedly corroborating a range of accusations, including match-fixing, abuse of authority, intimidation, incitement to violence, and dissemination of false information within Cameroon.
FIFA has been furnished with a dossier detailing these allegations, with investigations also underway by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Eto’o was already under scrutiny by CAF following complaints from “various Cameroonian football stakeholders,” though he remains “presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a competent judicial body.”