The case over the Indomitable Lions’ friendly matches is moving forward in Cameroon’s courts. Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, a former member of the Fecafoot executive committee, announced on Tuesday, October 13, that the Special Criminal Court (TCS) had registered, under number 872, the complaint filed by the Cameroon Amateur Football Clubs Association (ACFAC).
The case concerns the financial management of four international matches played against Uzbekistan, South Korea, Mexico and Russia. ACFAC suspects double funding: according to the association, the contracts signed by Fecafoot suggest that some expenses paid by the state were also covered by the match organisers. It wants to know what happened to the public money involved.
The affair broke in September after an investigation by the British newspaper The Times. According to the paper, two transfers of €455,056 and €112,514 linked to the Russia v Cameroon match in October 2023 were paid into a personal account held by Samuel Eto’o at Qatar National Bank in Doha. In total, €567,570, about 372 million CFA francs, is in question. Cameroonian media also report that a $500,000 payment tied to a friendly against Mexico, played in the United States in June 2023, went through the same account.
Registering the complaint is only a procedural step. It does not establish the alleged irregularities or any criminal liability on the part of the Fecafoot president. The TCS, which handles cases involving the misuse of public funds, will have to decide whether ACFAC’s suspicions are justified.