Cameroon’s 2019 AFCON Hosting Rights In Jeopardy After FIFA Fires FECAFOOT Officials

Uncertainty now looms over Cameroon’s 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFON) hosting rights after the World Football Governing Body (FIFA), sacked executive members of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT).

The termination of the mandate of the Tombi A Roko Sidiki’s-led executive is contained in a press release signed by FIFA on Wednesday, August 23, 2017. In the release, the World Football Governing Body decreed the appointment of a Normalisation Committee to manage the affairs of FECAFOOT.

The release, according to FIFA, is in accordance with Article 14 paragraph 1a) and Article 8 paragraph 2 of the FIFA statutes. 

 “This decision comes in connection with the confirmation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport( CAS) of the decision of the Chambers of Conciliation and ’Arbitration of the National Olympic and Sports Committee (NOSC), to annul the electoral process leading to the election of the current FECAFOOT executive committee in 2015 and following recent failed attempts by FIFA to reconcile the football stakeholders in Cameroon and overcome the current impasse,” the release reads in part.

After the 2015 elections into FCAFOOT, the President of Etoile Filante Garoua, Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, wrote to CAS, challenging the outcome of the election and demanded for its annulment.

Since then, Abdouraman and the Tombi- A Roko Sidiki’s- led FECAFOOT has been plunged into a protracted legal battle over the election.

Last year, CAS ruled in favour of Abdouraman, giving FIFA the go ahead to form a Normalisation Committee to replace FECAFOOT in the management of the country’s football.

But FIFA instead wrote to Abdouraman, informing him that the Disciplinary Committee has not yet ruled on the CAS decision.

After receiving FIFA’s letter, Abdouraman filed another complaint to the FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee against FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, and Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, accusing them of deliberately refusing to uphold CAS verdict.

Abdouraman also wrote a strong-worded letter to the FIFA Disciplinary Chief, Jaime Cambrelang, accusing FIFA of choosing to ignore its own statutes that stipulate that; “FIFA has the obligation to observe at all times the rules, directives and decisions of CAS.”

In a reply to Abdouraman’s letter, Cambrelang wrote: “We also make it clear that our letter dated June 26, 2017, does not constitute a decision as such, as enshrined in Article 115 of the Disciplinary Code of FIFA.

This correspondence is of a purely informative nature, without prejudice of any kind whatsoever and is based on the documentation at this moment at our disposal.”

Contreras argued that: “FIFA is not a forum for the execution of decisions taken by CAS in the course of an appeal procedure against a prima facie decision at national level...”

However, with the latest decision by FIFA to appoint a Normalisation Committee in place of FECAFOOT, many are afraid that FIFA may have backtracked from its initial decision and is resolute to implement CAS’s decision after pressure from Abdouraman.

The decision comes at a time when many Cameroonians are praying and hoping to see that Cameroon hosts the 2019 African Nations Cup, AFCON, an edition which is under serious threat after comments made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Ahmad Ahmad, who said Cameroon was “not ready” to host the competition even if it were four teams participating.

It should be noted, that following the imprisonment of then FECAFOOT President, Iya Mohamed, the then First Vice President, John Begheni Ndeh, was supposed to assume office but he was barred. Anglophones are said to have grumbled that JB Ndeh was ‘technically knocked out’ from the juicy position because he is an Anglophone.