Top News

Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) president Samuel Eto’o has strongly backed Gianni Infantino at a time when the FIFA chief is coming under increasing pressure from UEFA before the upcoming election. The former striker praised FIFA’s investment in Africa’s development and said Europe should not be allowed to dominate the global conversation.

Eto’o has gone public with his support for FIFA president Infantino as resistance from UEFA continues to grow. Speaking to L’Equipe, the former forward defended Infantino’s leadership after criticism from European football’s governing body. Infantino has been facing rising pressure from UEFA figures who want him removed from office. Eto’o, however, believes the FIFA chief has produced real benefits for the development of football worldwide, especially in Africa.

Eto’o said Infantino has given African countries vital backing to build infrastructure and develop young players. He argued that European football often safeguards its own business interests at the cost of other parts of the world.

“Football is already a commercial product! Who finances football? Companies that buy advertising space,” Eto’o said. “Who owns those companies? Europe also protects its own interests, under pressure from clubs.

“Why should we be criticised for protecting ours? Today, President Infantino is giving Africans the chance to dream of developing the sport. He has helped improve African football, otherwise we would not be seeing so many federation headquarters being built.

“We funded part of it, while the rest came through FIFA’s support via the FIFA Forward project. It is concrete. And it will allow us to develop talent. In a few years, when we have players like Roger Milla or [Kylian] Mbappe, it will be thanks to that funding.”

Responding to claims that Infantino has bypassed governance procedures, Eto’o pointed to the democratic authority of the 211 member federations in the General Assembly. He stressed that major programmes such as the FIFA Forward project are properly approved by federation presidents.

He added: “UEFA is an important confederation for FIFA and contributes enormously to football, but it should not be seen as the only one or the most important one. It is a distorted debate. And people do not understand the challenges faced by federation presidents in Africa. Do you think we could even play football without governments? For some federations, 95% or even 100% of the funding comes from states that are already dealing with enormous challenges.”

Looking ahead to the FIFA presidential election in March, Eto’o made it clear that he will firmly support Infantino. He underlined that the large revenues generated by major international tournaments are crucial for the game’s wider development.

“There is always a risk in an election [of losing], but that does not stop me from supporting him,” Eto’o said. “People attach all sorts of things to him. Managing something that creates such global passion is difficult. But look at the profits from the World Cups in Qatar and the United States. That is what we want for football. If we do not have money, we cannot develop the sport. People need to understand that.”