Stalemate Continues Amidst Feud Between Ministry of Sports and FECAFOOT

The presence of two technical staffs for the national team at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé has further muddied the waters.

Previously, optimism had soared following the embrace in Yaoundé between Marc Brys, coach-selector, and Samuel Eto’o, president of FECAFOOT. On that occasion, the two former adversaries vowed to align their goals: "We share the same objective, which is paramount for millions of Cameroonians." A so-called consensual list had been released for the coaching staff of the Lions. However, the tenacity of each competing faction for the management of our national team has led to two staffs converging at the Hilton Hotel, resulting in utter confusion.

L'Indépendant newspaper speaks of a "New Standoff." Alongside the violations of state regulations and commitments, and the disregard for the hierarchy of norms in the management of the senior men's national football team, which technical staff has been definitively validated by Marc Brys? The persistence of two staffs has sown confusion. It is a "Battle of Legitimacy between the FECAFOOT-MINSEP staffs." According to Le Messager, just when the crisis between FECAFOOT and the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education seemed to have ended with the press conference held by the head of the institution last Thursday, attended by the Inspector General of MINSEP Services, coupled with the late-night publication of the list of technical, administrative, and medical staff for the national team, the war reignited yesterday, Sunday, June 2, upon the arrival of players at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé.

In this new Minsep-FECAFOOT clash, "High instructions have been respected." La Nouvelle newspaper believes that the steadfast retention of coach Marc Brys, endorsed by the head of state, demonstrates that the high instructions of the President have indeed been respected. Moreover, the favorable resolution of the crisis between the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education (MINSEP) and the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) is further evidence that Paul Biya firmly holds the reins of the Republic. A perspective not shared by L’Élite de Yaoundé, which speaks of "Seizing Paul Biya's High Instructions." The newspaper is outraged: incapable of producing any evidence or trace and unlawfully assuming the role of the Presidency administration, which is solely authorized to transmit the "Very High Instructions of the President of the Republic," the Tsinga cartel, aided by infiltrated accomplices at the Unity Palace, attempts a forced maneuver to quash a 'presidential government act' with hearsay.