By Noela E.BISONG & SIMON N. KALLA with reports
The Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, through its Secretary General, Minister of State, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, has penned an urgent script to the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, in relation to the current stand-off between the sports ministry and the country’s football governing body, FECAFOOT.
Ngoh Ngoh demands Kombi to take all necessary dispositions in concerting with FECAFOOT and the National Office of Sports Infrastructure and Equipment known in French as ONIES, for a proper organisation of sport materials in line with Cameroon’s AFCON 2025 qualifier game against Namibia billed for September 7.
The SG states that he awaits feedback from the Minister to be related to the Head of State, Paul Biya.
The intervention from the High Office comes at a time when Cameroonians are being amazed at the impasse between the sports ministry and FECAFOOT which came to limelight in April this year. It has remained turbulent ever since Minister Kombi took the initiative to appoint the head coach and staff of the Men’s National Football squad. Recently, tensions rose between head coach Marc Brys and the president of FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o, with the former faulting the later of weak management skills.
Sports Minister shifts AFCON venue to Yaounde, ignoring FECAFOOT’s Douala preparations
Last August 7, FECAFOOT selected Japoma Stadium in Douala as the venue for the match, and ONIES, the National Office for Sports Infrastructure and Equipment, approved the choice. With the match initially scheduled to take place at Douala’s Japoma Stadium, recent developments have shifted the focus to Yaoundé’s Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
ONIES later reversed its decision, citing heavy rainfall in Douala during this period, which could disrupt both training sessions and the match. They recommended moving the game to Yaoundé, a city with more reliable weather conditions. FECAFOOT President Samuel Eto’o insisted on sticking with the original plan to hold the match at Japoma, emphasising ONIES’ initial approval.
Following weather forecasts that indicated heavy rainfall in Douala and sunshine in Yaoundé, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, reaffirmed that the match would be held in Yaoundé. However, FECAFOOT proposed an alternative: moving the match to Garoua, a northern city with minimal rainfall risk.
Given the discord between FECAFOOT, ONIES, and MINSEP, many are left wondering if this is just another chapter in the ongoing struggle for control and influence within Cameroonian football.
Thierry Ndoh, Team Press Officer of the Indomitable Lions speaks out
“FECAFOOT has already taken all the amenities in Garoua since Friday. The Cameroon national team will be accommodated in a well-known hotel, in fact the same hotel that welcomed them. So you can imagine the hotel. Everything was taken care of and even the travel conditions and the hotel itself in Namibia. CAF has already given its agreement in principle pending official approval. CAF has given its agreement in principle to the match in Garoua, now it remains to formalize them. Since Namibia agrees, it has set it’s conditions, FECAFOOT has agreed to take charge of a certain number of things. Namibia agreed and jointly an email was sent to CAF which responded to FECAFOOT also asking for some practical information.”
Marc Brys claims FECAFOOT physically threatened him, intimated players
In an article published by The Athletic Media Company, a New York Times Company, Cameroon’s men’s national team coach, Marc Brys, has accused the Cameroon Football Association (FECAFOOT) of severe misconduct, including physical threats and deprivation of necessary training resources.
These allegations underscore ongoing tensions between Brys and FECAFOOT, particularly with its president Samuel Eto’o, despite previous public reconciliations. Brys’s troubling allegations highlight significant challenges in football governance in Cameroon, raising concerns as the team approaches crucial competitive fixtures.