According to The Guardian, Samuel Eto’o, president of FECAFOOT and a member of the CAF ExCo, is positioning himself behind the scenes to succeed Patrice Motsepe, the CAF president under fire after his U-turn on the frequency of the AFCON.
Patrice Motsepe, the CAF president, is facing unprecedented opposition within the continental executive committee, according to The Guardian. The revolt stems from an unexpected U-turn: a return to the biennial AFCON cycle is now being considered, just ten months after the vote in favour of a tournament every four years.
In this climate, one name keeps coming up: that of Samuel Eto’o. The FECAFOOT president, who is also a member of the CAF ExCo, is actively positioning himself behind the scenes to succeed Patrice Motsepe, again according to the British daily.
The U-turn that sets things alight
The starting point is the format of the Africa Cup of Nations. “We have been discussing over the last few days and we are looking at everything, including the return of AFCON every two years. My number one duty is to protect and advance the interests of Africa,” said Patrice Motsepe, quoted by Reuters via The Guardian.
The remarks have gone down badly internally. Ten months earlier, CAF had voted to move to a four-year cycle. Several key figures in pan-African football openly criticise a solitary style of governance.
A second grievance is added, again according to The Guardian: several dissenting officials accuse Motsepe of having promised Cape Verde the unanimous support of the 54 African federations for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, without prior consultation.
Eto’o: an aura and rivals
To carry the alternative, Samuel Eto’o can draw on historic legitimacy and a unique popular aura, according to KOACI, assets that could help him win over the votes of federation presidents. Three other influential federation presidents are named by The Guardian: Ahmed Yahya, president of the FFRIM (Mauritania), Yacine Idriss Diallo (Ivory Coast) and Souleiman Waberi (Djibouti).
Beyond Motsepe, the dispute could weigh on the African vote: between 10 and 15 federations are now said to be considering voting against Gianni Infantino at the next FIFA congress, the British daily reports.
The format question also divides opinion outside the governing bodies. Claude Le Roy has publicly backed the urgency of preserving the AFCON every two years to finance African infrastructure: “It absolutely has to be kept every two years, because an AFCON every two years means training pitches, regional planning and renovated hospitals,” he told Afrik-Foot.
Two dates to settle it
Two deadlines will weigh on the matter. A decisive meeting of the CAF Executive Committee is scheduled for November in Abidjan to ratify the official AFCON format. Then comes the FIFA presidential election, in March, where the African bloc’s vote will be closely watched.
Patrice Motsepe has officially announced that he will not seek a third term when his current mandate expires in 2029, according to Reuters.