Invited to the show ‘La vérité en Face’ on Equinoxe TV, former Lion Indomptables goalkeeper Joseph Antoine Bell took the opportunity to speak his mind, not sparing criticism of Samuel Eto’o, the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fécafoot).
Due to the conflict between the Ministry of Sports and Fécafoot, the Cameroon national team began their latest training camp, the first under Marc Brys, in rather unusual conditions. The federation, led by Samuel Eto’o, notably refused to provide essential training equipment in the days leading up to the match against Cape Verde in Yaoundé, for the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Brys himself criticized this situation, saying, ‘It’s unprecedented. In my 26 years in this profession, I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Former Marseille player Joseph Antoine Bell added further criticism of Fécafoot, stating, ‘This situation reminded me of scenes we often experienced as kids, where not everyone in the neighborhood was wealthy, and there was someone who owned the ball. He would only provide the ball for us to play, and if he wasn’t a good player himself, we wouldn’t choose him.
Then he would threaten to take the ball away.’ Bell questioned, ‘When you consistently act against the balance of players, against the team’s harmony, why were you elected? The question you should be asking yourself today is, what is the ultimate goal?’ He directly referenced Samuel Eto’o’s policies, accusing him of not acting in the national team’s best interest, citing incidents like the pressure after the victory against Cape Verde (4-1).
Despite these challenges, the Lions Indomptables have continued to progress honorably in sporting terms, leading Group D with 8 points after victories and draws, notably against Angola (1-1). This achievement is commendable given the internal context that could have significantly disrupted Brys’ squad.”
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