According to a special report by Martyn Ziegler, chief sports correspondent for The Times, Samuel Eto'o, current president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), has been accused by former FECAFOOT executives of mishandling over €500,000 in friendly match fees paid by Russia. Documents show requests to transfer the money to Eto'o's personal account at Qatar National Bank in Doha, and three years later, the funds' final status remains unexplained.

Invoices and contracts reviewed by The Times show the payment was split into two amounts: €455,056 and €112,514, totaling over €560,000. These fees relate to a friendly match between Russia and Cameroon in Moscow in October 2023.

The 45-year-old Eto'o currently serves as FECAFOOT president and is a member of CAF's executive committee. During his football career, he played for clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Everton, winning the Champions League twice.

Multiple former FECAFOOT executives told The Times they believe Eto'o forced them out of the federation and noted there are no clear records for the funds involved to date. They filed a formal complaint with FIFA's ethics committee about Eto'o's conduct over a year ago but have received no updates since.

These former FECAFOOT officials are therefore questioning whether Eto'o is being protected due to his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

FIFA denied the allegation, emphasizing that Infantino has no authority to interfere with the ethics committee's investigations. Both Eto'o and FECAFOOT were asked to comment but had not responded by the time the report was published.

A FIFA spokesperson said: "The FIFA president has no influence over FIFA's judicial bodies, which are independent. FIFA welcomes reasonable scrutiny, but scrutiny does not justify extending baseless allegations to the FIFA president."

Gibai Gatama, a former FECAFOOT executive committee member, stated that to his knowledge, there is no accounting or banking evidence proving that the money transferred to Eto'o's personal account was later moved to FECAFOOT's official account or recorded in the federation's ledgers.

Gatama said: "To my knowledge, there is no accounting or banking evidence indicating that the funds transferred to Samuel Eto'o's personal account in Qatar were subsequently transferred to FECAFOOT's official account or recorded in the federation's accounting records."

He also stated: "Neither FECAFOOT nor Samuel Eto'o has denied the existence or validity of these transactions, as the documents themselves speak clearly."

According to Gatama, FECAFOOT's regulations explicitly state that all federation funds must be held in accounts opened in the federation's name, not in personal accounts.

Gatama expressed frustration with the FIFA ethics committee's slow handling of the matter. He noted that over a year has passed since he filed the complaint, yet he has received no updates.

He said: "Those involved in Cameroonian football interpret FIFA's silence as political and institutional support for Samuel Eto'o."

"This perception is reinforced by his publicly visible close relationship with Gianni Infantino, along with FIFA's continued institutional support, including the FIFA Forward program. When serious, well-documented allegations like these do not lead to visible external investigations, and the officials involved continue to receive public FIFA support, it is understandable that people question whether he is being protected."

Gatama's complaint to FIFA's ethics committee is not the first time Eto'o has faced similar allegations.

In 2024, Henry Njalla Gwan Jr., former vice president of FECAFOOT, filed a complaint against Eto'o, accusing him of match-fixing and abuse of power.

Njalla Gwan stated that he was threatened and also questioned the relationship between Eto'o and Infantino.

He said: "Mr. Eto'o has publicly and strongly supported Mr. Infantino, noting that African football has benefited from his leadership. Of course, that is his right."

"But when such strong political and institutional positions exist alongside numerous unresolved disputes, it is reasonable for people to question the nature of this relationship."

"It is therefore legitimate to ask: after Eto'o received FIFA and Infantino's support during difficult times, is there some political relationship at play?"

Eto'o was elected FECAFOOT president in 2021. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges related to image rights income from his football career in Spain, was sentenced to 22 months in prison, and fined £1.4 million, but this did not affect his continued tenure as FECAFOOT president.

In February 2025, a $200,000 fine imposed by CAF's disciplinary committee against Eto'o was overturned.

The original sanction found that Eto'o had signed a brand ambassador contract with a Russian gambling company, which "seriously violated ethical principles, integrity, and the spirit of sportsmanship." The company was also a sponsor of Cameroon's top two professional football divisions, as well as Cameroon's men's and women's national teams.

Under FIFA regulations, individuals bound by FIFA's code of ethics are not permitted to engage in football-related gambling activities.

However, Eto'o's lawyers ultimately argued that the case should fall under the jurisdiction of CAF's independent ethics committee, leading to the previous fine being overturned.

The CAF disciplinary committee also ruled at that time that there was insufficient evidence to find Eto'o guilty of match-fixing.

This allegation previously involved audio recordings of a conversation between Eto'o and a club president. In the recording, Eto'o appeared to promise that he would help the club gain promotion and possibly influence referees.

Eto'o denied any wrongdoing in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport in 2023. He explained: "I was talking to a friend who has invested in football and wants his club to be among the best in Cameroon. I simply reassured him that I would do everything to prevent referees from making mistakes against them."

Additionally, Sporting Intelligence reported in August 2025 that a law firm in Los Angeles handling Eto'o's case in Cameroonian football asked the FBI to investigate approximately $600,000 in additional friendly match fees. These funds relate to a friendly match between Mexico and Cameroon in San Diego in June 2023.

In September 2024, Eto'o was also banned by FIFA from participating in national team activities for showing disrespect to match officials during the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia.

During the 2022 World Cup, he apologized publicly after a confrontation with an Algerian social media figure. At the time, Eto'o kicked the individual and later described the incident as a "violent altercation."

Eto'o's legal team also argues that he has significant political influence due to his close relationship with the wife of Cameroon's President Paul Biya and certain influential politicians in the country, and some critics fear that openly opposing him could lead to arrest.

Despite ongoing controversies, Infantino has repeatedly publicly supported Eto'o on social media in the past and congratulated him following his re-election. He also praised the opening of FECAFOOT's new headquarters and noted that the project received partial funding from FIFA's COVID-19 relief fund.

Additionally, Eto'o recently appeared in legal documents that FIFA filed with a U.S. court.

In response to UEFA's legal documents, FIFA cited its support for Eto'o's FIFA Forward program, which was originally intended to sell World Cup-related rights to private investors but was later abandoned. Eto'o had previously called for the plan to be revived if Infantino was re-elected.

The documents FIFA filed included Eto'o's statement that the program "would be greatly beneficial to African nations, as it would allow us to truly compete with the major football countries" and noted that the plan "could significantly shift the balance of power in football, prevent brain drain from Africa, and ultimately represent other nations."

There remains no clear public explanation of the final status of over €500,000 paid by Russia to Eto'o's personal account in 2023. Eto'o himself has not responded to The Times' latest allegations.

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