Eto'o Eyes CAF Presidency as Motsepe Faces Internal Turmoil

Samuel Eto’o, president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot), is reportedly considering pursuing the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), according to The Guardian. The former striker is positioning himself in a context where Patrice Motsepe, who has led the organization since 2021, is experiencing political fragility.

The source of tensions: the project to restore the Africa Cup of Nations every two years. The decision is expected to be formalized at a CAF executive committee meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, next month. However, the way Motsepe handled the announcement reportedly upset several African federation presidents, who were not consulted before last week’s strategic conference where the calendar change was unveiled.

Motsepe himself indicated at the end of July that he did not intend to seek a new mandate, which expires in 2029. His institutional future would also depend, in part, on Gianni Infantino: the FIFA president is seeking to consolidate his support on the African continent, and his relations with Motsepe, which had been strained in recent months, have recently warmed.

Eto’o would not be alone in eyeing this position. Idriss Diallo, president of the Ivory Coast Federation, Ahmed Yahya, head of the Mauritanian federation, and Souleiman Waberi, his Djiboutian counterpart, would also be among potential candidates. Yahya and Waberi reportedly opposed the return to a biennial CAN. All would be seeking to obtain Infantino’s support in the event of Motsepe’s early departure.

A statutory procedure would theoretically allow the current president’s position to be challenged before the end of his mandate, provided a written request is gathered supported by at least two-thirds of executive committee members. For now, nothing indicates that such a move is underway.