The coach of the French women’s football team, Hervé Renard, has just spoken out about the situation regarding the Cameroon national team.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique, where he admitted to having discussions with Samuel Eto’o, the president of FECAFOOT, regarding the coaching position, the French “white sorcerer” denied the information about the salary demands attributed to him after Marc Brys’s announcement.
Cameroon is a peculiar country. Dubbed “the continent,” the Central African nation has been making headlines for several months. Between sports scandals and the failures of the national team during Rigobert Song’s tenure as head coach of the Indomitable Lions, Samuel Eto’o’s country is far from peaceful. While Marc Brys, the new national coach appointed by the Ministry of Sports without the federation’s knowledge, is starting to assert himself ahead of major events in June, a revelation about his appointment has just emerged. This Thursday, Hervé Renard, one of FECAFOOT’s proposals, spoke up.
The French technician’s strong denial Accused of being too expensive by the Ministry of Sports, according to a document revealing the salary demands of the three proposals from the Cameroonian Football Federation, the current coach of the French women’s team issued a denial. Indeed, in a piece in Jeune Afrique announcing a possible meeting between Marc Brys and Samuel Eto’o on May 7th at the Ministry of Sports, Hervé Renard stated that he never demanded a salary of 200 thousand euros per month (131 million CFA francs) to become the coach of the Indomitable Lions.
“I have not had any financial discussions with anyone. I met Samuel Eto’o in France, but we never talked about money,” stated the former coach of the Ivorian Elephants, who also denied the idea that he demanded an advance on his salary before taking up his duties. “I also read that I asked for an advance on this salary. These are lies.” Who is lying in Cameroon?
This is an incredible revelation that casts serious doubt on the Ministry of Sports or the Cameroonian Football Federation. Indeed, to explain the unilateral choice of the Belgian technician, Marc Brys (who earns 24 million CFA francs per month), Mouelle Kombi explained that it was the demands of FECAFOOT’s choices that were too costly for the state.
“It is not without interest to note that the three (03) applications submitted by you each presented exorbitant salary demands, ranging from approximately 1 billion (1,500,000 euros) to 1.6 billion CFA francs (2,500,000 euros) per year, respectively averaging 82,000,000 to 132,000,000 CFA francs per month. These are excessively high amounts never paid to any coach in the history of the Indomitable Lions,” explained a correspondence from the Minister of Sports to FECAFOOT.
As a reminder, this correspondence revealed that Hervé Renard’s annual salary was 1.6 billion CFA francs, ahead of that of the former Nigerian coach (runner-up in Africa 2023), José Peseiro, 984 million CFA francs per year, and Fabio Canavarro (2006 World Cup champion), also 984 million CFA francs.
Did Samuel Eto’o himself decide the salaries of the three proposed coaches, or did Mouelle Kombi lie to cover himself with the national and international public opinion? The question remains unanswered. One thing is certain, the atmosphere in Cameroonian football remains very unhealthy with the observed dysfunction. In any case, Hervé Renard has cleared his name, pending any further revelations.
What do you think of the French coach’s statement? And how do you find the situation between MINSEP and FECAFOOT?
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