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Eto'o defends Infantino against criticism: "He changed football"

As Gianni Infantino faces growing unpopularity following the 2026 World Cup, Samuel Eto'o, president of the Cameroon Football Federation, publicly defends the FIFA chief and attributes attacks to electoral calculations.

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Eto'o defends Infantino against criticism: "He changed football"
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Samuel Eto’o defended Gianni Infantino in an interview with CNN, as the FIFA president faces mounting opposition from federations and confederations in the wake of the 2026 World Cup.

“President Gianni Infantino changed football,” said the president of the Cameroon Football Federation. “He gave opportunities to nations that had not had these opportunities to participate in the greatest of tournaments, the World Cup.”

Eto’o emphasized Infantino’s record on the African continent. “He helped our continent. He helped our federations develop much more quickly, and we must acknowledge that. We should support him for everything he has accomplished so far.”

The defense by the Indomitable Lions legend comes at a particularly tense time for the Italian-Swiss official. Beyond criticism over the 48-team format of the World Cup, it is above all his failed project to open FIFA to private investors that has crystallized opposition against him within the global football movement.

Eto’o brushes aside these grievances and sees a political maneuver. “I don’t think President Gianni Infantino did anything wrong. All of this happened because there are elections coming up.”

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