Cameroon Centralizes Sports Finances, Challenging Fecafoot’s Autonomy Headed by Eto'o

Cameroon’s sports administration is undergoing a major transformation as the government centralizes financial management under the Ministry of Sports. A directive signed on December 31, 2024, formalized in the 2025 Finance Law, now mandates that funds for national and international competitions be managed directly by the Ministry, sidelining federations like FECAFOOT.

Sports federations must submit their funding proposals to the Ministry of Sports, which will then determine how to allocate and oversee the monies, according to Article 171 of the circular. Although the goal of this reform is to increase transparency, others are concerned that it may result in delays and weaken the federations' independence.

For Samuel Eto’o, the president of FECAFOOT, this is a big problem. Eto’o believes that financial independence is key to improving Cameroonian football. But this new rule goes against his plan, making it harder for him to improve the sport, especially since he already has disagreements with Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

This comes at a bad time, right after the national team failed to qualify for the CHAN tournament. Some critics say that while the reform is trying to make finances more transparent, it could make the relationship between the government and the federations worse, creating more uncertainty for sports in Cameroon.