Former Cameroonian football player Samuel Eto’o has been elected as the new President of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot).
Eto’o, a four-time African Player of the Year defeated the incumbent President of the association Seidou Mbombo Njoya by 43 votes to 31. Njoya also doubles as the Vice-President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Prior to his latest win, Eto’o, 40, had in 2018 been elected to the same capacity. But his victory was contested by many stakeholders in Cameroonian Football, leading to the election being canceled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Speaking after his confirmation on Saturday, Eto’o described the Saturday victory as the proudest moment of his career.
“I’ll be remembering today as one of the proudest moments of my life,” Eto’o posted on his Instagram page.
“Every single vote represents the energy and ambition of our football family to take our beloved sport to a level we’ve never seen before. Let’s get to work.”
In the running to the election, Eto’o promised to transform football in Cameroon by constructing at least 10 stadiums across the country.
This dream of making football thrive in the country, he said can only be actualized when footballers lead the charge for these reforms.
Eto’o said to the BBC in a previous interview, “we have to bring footballers to the centre of our policies. It is our role to ensure that those who play this discipline make a decent living out of it.”
As a player, Eto’o was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and one of the greatest African players ever.
In his illustrious career, he played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Mallorca, and Everton.
