IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - AFRICA
Picture : the first words of the new President Samuel Eto'o : " The election is over.Time is right for us to come together and make Cameroon once more the great football nation it always has been".
President Samuel Eto’o of the Cameroon Football Federation ...
It is the newest title of the country’s celebrated football icon of immeasurable achievement in the art. He charged at the football federation top job like a wounded lion, laying to rest popular beliefs that an outsider could never clinch that position, let alone on a maiden attempt; in fact, the attempt turned out to be a master’s stroke. 43-31 was the delegate count in favour of Samuel Eto’o whose defeat of incumbent, Seidou Mbombo Njoya closed the two-candidate race that opened this Saturday, 11 December with tension threatening to implode their traditional AG hall in the Yaounde-based Mont Febe Sofitel.
Witnessed by representatives from FIFA, CAF, the country’s sports ministry, other movers and shakers of Cameroon football, the elective general assembly was tactfully managed by Barrister Gilbert Schlick and his peers of the electoral commission as they sternly warned against any indiscipline that could seek to mar proceedings. All 7 aspirants for the top job had 3-minute turns to woo undecided voters, two of whom had been absent from the initial 76-voter electorate eligible to vote. Two of the candidates backed the incumbent and three settled for the choice that turned out to be the productive one. As the entire nation held its breath watching live on the state-run Cameroon Radio Television, Eto’o got to the magic number of 38 to throw his fan base into frenzy with the vote count still on. The newest President of the Cameroon Football Federation later embraced the loser in a typical show of fair play well before the latter took to social media to congratulate the winner and enjoined all and sundry to rally behind his particularly sumptuous program. But then another message from social media, this time by Abdouraman Amadou Baba, the main man who had all along nailed the processes with interminable protests at the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared the vote illegal, and hoped the Lausanne-based CAS would ‘do the right thing’ by nullifying the elections.
IFFHS President HE Saleh Salem Bahwini with the new President of the Cameroon Federation Samuel Eto'o
Dr. Samuel Eto’o Fils who, last March, was conferred the “Docteur Honoris Causa” title by the French Institute, ‘Groupe de Commerce’ as before him, fellow countrymen, Roger Nkodo Dang, Mohamadou Bayero Fadil, and African leaders, Alassane Dramane Ouattara of Ivory Coast and Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central Africa Republic, the few Africans to be decorated by the Paris outfit, has a huge CV in the world of football that includes, amongst others: 118 caps for Cameroon; scored 56 goals for Cameroon with 18 during the African Cup of Nations making him highest scorer therein; played 4 FIFA World Cup finals(1998, 2002, 2010, 2014) to share Cameroon record with fellow countrymen Jacques Songo’s and Rigobert Song; first player to win African Player of the Year 4 times(2003, 2004, 2005, 2010); won African Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002, and Olympic gold at Sydney 2000; thrice UEFA Champions league winner in 2005-06, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010; 2010 FIFA Club World Cup winner. The IFFHS legendary player who has been described as “the people’s federation president”, is the third footballer to head the federation since Pascal Owona in 1992 and Emmanuel Mve in 1994.