The African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) is set to start in under two weeks, on 21 December. Everything is slowly coming together with the various nations announcing their various squads. On this matter, however, Cameroon seem to be all over the place with their squad selection and coachng issues.
Andre Onana has received a call up to Cameroon's AFCON squad, despite the fact that the manager who selected him was sacked last week.
Several Premier League stars will play in the competition, including Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Manchester City's Omar Marmoush and Manchester United pair, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo.
Onana's spot in the Cameroon squad is far from guaranteed as the manager that has called him up is refusing to step down after being officially dismissed last week. Last week, Belgian manager, Marc Brys, was sacked just three weeks before Cameroon's opening fixture against Gabon.
The decision was made by newly re-elected as Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) president and former Chelsea striker, Samuel Eto’o, amid accusations of, "subterfuge," "professional failure" and "inciting" players to defy the football federation.
Brys was replaced with one of his assistants, David Pagou, who announced on 2 December that Onana, currently on loan at Turkish side, Trabzonspor, wasn't in the Cameroon squad. However, Brys is now insisting that he is charge of the Cameroon team and has named Onana in his official squad while outlining his own preparatory programme for AFCON.
Although both squads include the likes of Mbeumo and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, Pagou has dropped Onana in favour of local keeper, Edouard Sombang, of Colombe de Sangmelima, despite the fact that he has not played league football in the past six months.
With the official deadline to submit the squads for AFCON approaching on Thursday, 11 December, it remains to be seen which squad will officially make it to Morocco.
According to a report from SunSport, the Cameroonian government and the football association are holding meetings to try and find an amicable solution to the situation as soon as possible. Regardless, the discourse is reportedly causing concerns among the Cameroon players who fear that the chaos could impact their campaign in the tournament.
Brys has criticised his former team for snubbing goalkeeper, Andre Onana, for their AFCON squad. Onana and veteran striker, Vincent Aboubakar, were both left out of the Indomitable Lions' squad for the tournament while midfielder, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, misses out through injury.
Brys was sacked by the Fecafoot a couple weeks ago and replaced by David Pagou, who wasted no time in making some controversial moves.
"Eto’o left out important players, leaders because he obviously made the list," Brys told Afrik Foot. "How can you face a tournament of this level without a world-class goalkeeper or without Aboubakar? They are players with character, who don’t bow to the president. It’s incredible, but it doesn’t surprise me because he’s a narcissist who thinks he’s the best looking player."
The trouble in Cameroonian football is growing, as the government prepares to respond to Fecafoot president, Samuel Eto’o’s decision to sack the Indomitable Lions head coach.
Eto’o announced that Brys and his staff had been removed shortly after he was re-elected as president of the football federation. This move has created new tension between Fecafoot and the government.
Samuel Eto'o has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Cameroonian legend & now CFF president has been accused of leaving a player out of the squad to ensure his own playing career record intact. This has caused a wave of protests in the nation's footballing fraternity as people believe that the former player is insecure & doesn't want anyone to reach near the international goalscoring record set by him.
According to several outlets, Samuel Eto'o is behind the decision to exclude Vincent Aboubakar from Cameroon's final squad for the 2025 AFCON, as the latter is just 11 goals away from equalling the former's tally. This decision from the head of the Cameroonian Football Association has received a lot of criticism lately. Eto'o has been accused of putting his own interests ahead of the welfare of his national team.
Samuel Eto'o currently holds the record of most goals scored for the Cameroon national football team, with 56 goals in 118 games. Meanwhile, Vincent Aboubakar has 45 goals in 117 games and just needs 11 more to break the record of one of the greatest African footballers. According to reports, it was Samuel Eto'o who took this decision on his own, after being re-elected unopposed as the head of the nation's football federation.
This Samuel Eto'o controversy once again proves that, irrespective of your status, sometimes you need to set your ego & politics aside to let the upcoming generations take the lead. His untimely firing of Marc Brys from the position of the coach of the team has also raised eyebrows.
Marc Brys, a Belgian coach, was appointed by the Ministry of Sports after Cameroon’s poor performance at the 2023 AFCON. His appointment was made on the direct orders of President, Paul Biya.
Brys was relieved of his duties just days after Eto'o was re-elected as president as president of the Cameroon Football Federation last weekend.
Brys was unable to guide Cameroon to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and now he won't lead the team to AFCON. "Eto’o always tried to sideline me as quickly as possible," Brys said, as per Africa Top Sport.
"From the very first minute, he insulted me, and I responded. I was too big a threat for him. I have other ambitions than constantly being on edge. It’s too aggressive, too deceptive. I’ve had enough. Too much negativity to work properly."
"It served as a lesson. I recommend the experience to everyone, but it shouldn’t last too long. Either you are afraid and refuse to engage in the fight or you see it as an enriching experience. Becoming Cameroon’s coach was a challenge for me. We’ll see what the consequences will be.”
Reports say the Presidency has told the Minister of Sports, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, not to react straight away. A source explained that by firing Brys — who was chosen by the government — Eto’o appears to be challenging the Presidency. The source also noted that Eto’o has named a replacement coach with no international experience.
The disagreement between Fecafoot and the government continues to grow, and a major clash now seems likely as both sides fight for control of Cameroon’s national team ahead of important international matches.
The Indomitable Lions start their Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Gabon on 24 December, before they take on defending champions, Ivory Coast and Mozambique.
The timing of all of this is terrible. In the lead up to a major tournament, things like these shouldn't occur. The country and team should solely focus on what's ahead and not on an internal issue.
The status quo should stick. Last minute changes, such like these, can send a typically harmless preparation into chaos and disrespute.
Samuel Eto'o has clearly taken his powers to his head. In my view, he should've kept his nose in his own business and not on the squad selection. Records are meant to be broken. A person has to accept that his/her record might one day be broken at one point. It's the circle of life in sport.