Cameroon Football Association president Samuel Eto’o is facing fresh questions over a reported €567,570 payment linked to Cameroon’s international friendly against Russia in Moscow in October 2023.
According to documents reportedly reviewed by The Times, the Russian Football Union (RFU) was asked to make two payments of €455,056 and €112,514 into an account held by Eto’o at Qatar National Bank in Doha.
The arrangement has raised questions about how federation money was handled during Eto’o’s leadership of the Cameroon Football Association, FECAFOOT.
A letter dated October 2, 2023, reportedly signed by then FECAFOOT national-team coordinator Benoît Angbwa, requested the payment of €455,056, said to represent 80 per cent of the agreed participation fee for the friendly.
Former FECAFOOT officials have questioned why money connected to the federation was directed to the personal bank account of its president.
Guibai Gatama, a former member of the FECAFOOT executive committee, reportedly told The Times that there was not enough banking or accounting evidence to show whether the money was later transferred to an official FECAFOOT account and properly recorded.
However, the allegations do not establish that Eto’o stole or misappropriated the money.
One explanation reportedly given for the arrangement was that sanctions affecting Russian financial transactions made the payment more difficult. FECAFOOT was also said to lack a suitable foreign-currency account outside Cameroon, with the Qatar account allegedly used as an alternative way to receive the funds.
Reports from Cameroon have suggested that the money was eventually transferred to FECAFOOT and accounted for, although former officials have called for documents showing the full movement and final destination of the funds.
The main issue, therefore, is transparency: why a personal account was used, whether the arrangement was officially authorised and whether the full amount was properly recorded in FECAFOOT’s financial accounts.
The latest controversy comes as Eto’o continues to face scrutiny over his relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Eto’o was recently mentioned in a FIFA legal filing in the United States over the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which involved plans for private investment in commercial interests linked to the World Cup.
The proposal was later abandoned following opposition from UEFA and other football stakeholders. FIFA has rejected allegations that the initiative was an attempt to improperly commercialise FIFA assets.
Eto’o has also faced disciplinary action in recent years.
In July 2024, the CAF disciplinary board fined him $200,000 after finding that he had seriously breached its principles on ethics, integrity and sportsmanship over a paid brand-ambassador agreement with a betting company. The panel, however, found insufficient evidence to establish a separate allegation of match manipulation.
FIFA later imposed a six-month ban on Eto’o from attending Cameroon national-team matches after finding him guilty of offensive behaviour and misconduct during a FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup match.
CAF also handed him a four-match stadium ban and a $20,000 fine following a disciplinary case arising from Cameroon’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Morocco.
For now, the €567,570 Russia payment remains a matter of scrutiny and has not been established as a case of theft or embezzlement.
The key questions are why Eto’o’s personal account was used, whether FECAFOOT approved the arrangement, whether the money was later transferred to the federation and whether the transaction was fully recorded in its financial accounts.
