A Russian payment of over 500,000 euros into a Qatari account has reportedly disappeared: Samuel Eto’o is targeted by accusations

Former leaders of the Cameroonian Football Federation are demanding explanations about a bonus paid by Russia into the personal account of its president, Samuel Eto’o, after a friendly match between the two countries, according to The Times. Samuel Eto’o is accused of mismanaging a payment of more than 500,000 euros made by Russia in connection with a friendly match against Cameroon, played in Moscow in October 2023. According to The Times, invoices and contracts show two payments, of 455,056 and 112,514 euros, which were allegedly directed to the personal account of the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), opened at Qatar National Bank in Doha. Former Fecafoot officials claim they do not know what became of these funds. Guibai Gatama, a former member of the federation’s executive committee, asserts that, to his knowledge, there is « no accounting or banking document » demonstrating that the money was subsequently transferred to an official Fecafoot account or recorded in its accounts. Eto’o recently supported Infantino These former officials, who claim to have been sidelined from the organization during Eto’o’s presidency, state that they filed a complaint with FIFA’s Ethics Committee over a year ago. They say they have received no information since. Gatama believes that the organization’s silence is interpreted in Cameroon as political and institutional support for the former FC Barcelona striker. Eto’o and the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT), contacted by the media outlet, did not respond. The president of Fecafoot recently publicly supported the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which planned to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors, and Gianni Infantino, who is seeking re-election as head of FIFA.