Samuel Eto’o was elected president of Cameroon’s football federation, the Fédération Camerounaise de Football, on Saturday. It is his first position since the former striker stopped as a professional football player in September 2019. Eto’o, 40, was preferred over Seidou Mbombo Njoya, the current president. The Cameroon national team’s all-time top scorer received 43 preferential votes, while Njoya was left with 31 votes.
In early November, Eto’o announced his candidacy for the position. He promises to put an end to the problems at the national association. The Cameroonian was joined by a large crowd as he went to the football association’s headquarters in the capital Yaoundé to make his candidacy official. “It is time to rebuild football in Cameroon,” said the former top scorer from Barcelona, Internazionale and Chelsea, among others, in response to the alleged corruption at the association.
??[VIDÉO] #FECAFOOT: voici l’explosion de joie de @SamuelEtoo à l’annonce de sa victoire ce samedi à la presidence de la @FecafootOffice. @hpenot_lequipe @Nabil_djellit @doucetphilippe2 @BeyeHabib @KMbappe @10Ronaldinho @FabrizioRomano pic.twitter.com/OrkoUkLzWr
— LSI AFRICA (@lsiafrica) Dec 11, 2021
In 2018, Njoya was elected president, and then he could still count on the support of Eto’o. However, the international sports tribunal CAS declared the result of that election invalid at the beginning of this year. That is why new elections had to be called. Njoya was allowed to sit in the meantime. The Cameroonian also wanted to participate in the board election of the CAF, the football association of Africa this year. The CAS did not like that and did not grant permission. An important task for Eto’o will be to manage the Africa Cup, which starts in January in Cameroon.
I’ll be remembering today as one of the proudest moments of my life. I’m deeply grateful for to be elected as the new president of @FecafootOffice. Every vote represents the energy and ambition of our football family to take our beloved sport to a level we’ve never seen before. pic.twitter.com/2z8fjLBMLA
— Samuel Eto’o (@SamuelEtoo) Dec 11, 2021
Viral footage shows Eto’o jumping for joy when he hears the results of the vote. In an initial response on Twitter, the new chairman does not hide his joy either. “I will remember today as one of the proudest moments of my life. I am very grateful to have been elected as the new president. Each vote represents the energy and ambition of our football family to take our beloved sport to a level we have never seen before.”