Re-elected CAF president Patrice Motsepe hands Samuel Eto'o lifeline over controversial past

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Re-elected CAF president Patrice Motsepe hands Samuel Eto'o lifeline over controversial past

Stephen Awino 13:49 - 13.03.2025

CAF president Patrice Motsepe has urged for a clean slate for FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto'o following his new found position within African football top decision making body.

Newly re-elected CAF President Patrice Motsepe has urged for a clean slate for Samuel Eto'o, who recently secured a place on the CAF Executive Committee despite his controversial past.

Eto’o, the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) since 2021, has faced disciplinary action in recent years.

His past includes admitting to assaulting a football supporter and serving bans imposed by both FIFA and CAF, following a viral video from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar that showed Eto'o attacking a fan.

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As a result of the incident, FIFA barred Eto'o from attending any men’s or women’s international matches involving Cameroon for six months.

This ban initially made him ineligible to seek a spot on the CAF Executive Committee. However, Eto'o successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which lifted the ban late last week—just in time for him to run unopposed and secure his new position by acclamation.

Eto’o now joins the CAF Executive Committee as the sole representative from the Central African Football Federations Union (UNIFFAC).

Speaking after CAF’s general assembly, as quoted by Citizen Digital, Motsepe emphasized the need to move forward.

"The CAF executive committee made a decision about Samuel Eto'o that was overturned by CAS. He has now been elected as one of the leaders of African football, and the most important thing is that we must support him."

Motsepe, who is embarking on his second four-year term as CAF president, noted that Eto'o's past should not cloud hi tenure.

"Everyone at CAF must ensure that incidents involving Eto'o in the past must remain in the past. Nothing that occurred previously should now be held against him. I believe he has an important contribution to make. Cameroon, under the leadership of Samuel, will return to its glory days."

With Eto’o now part of African football’s top decision-making body, attention will turn to his leadership and whether he can restore Cameroon’s footballing prestige while navigating his new role in CAF.

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