Chaotic Cameroon Suffering From Bizarre Power Struggle as AFCON Looms

Cameroon in Power Struggle with AFCON Fast Approaching

Well - it appears that the situation with the Cameroon national team is a little more complicated than I first thought.

Last week, the issue was simply the controversial exclusion of Vincent Aboubakar from the AFCON squad, with the country’s national football president, Samuel Eto’o, allegedly fearing that the 33-year-old would come close to breaking his long-standing record as Cameroon’s top scorer in history at the tournament.

🚨 Samuel Eto'o is accused of dropping striker Vincent Aboubakar from Cameroon’s Afcon squad to stop him from breaking Eto’o’s scoring record, as per The Sun.

· According to reports, Eto’o, now president of the Cameroonian federation, allegedly influenced the decision to omit… pic.twitter.com/hKh6jJQJhg

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) December 11, 2025

Now though, it has become a flat-out power struggle - two managers are claiming authority over the team despite one of them being sacked, while two separate squad lists have been submitted, and with just five days before AFCON officially kicks off, there is no sign of order being restored.

How on earth has this happened? How can a major footballing nation, seen as a contender for Africa’s leading international competition, be in such chaos just days before kicking off? Let me walk you through the ins and outs of it. Be warned - things get messy …

A Controversial Sacking

The drama stems from the events of December 1st, just two days after former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o was re-elected as president of the FECAFOOT (Fédération Camerounaise de Football).

It quickly became clear that Eto’o had some radical ideas in mind for the international side, and it didn’t take him long to act on them - he sacked manager Marc Brys, the man who had led the side to the AFCON tournament in the first place, and appointed David Pagou in his place, a coach who had no experience outside of Cameroon.

Cameroon Coach, Marc Brys has accused Cameroon FA President, Samuel Eto'o of being narcissistic.

Eto'o sacked him and dropped Onana, Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Choupo-Moting from the AFCON Squad.

He refused to leave, then announced his own AFCON squad and included them in it. pic.twitter.com/v8Wb3RIkji

— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 13, 2025

It wasn’t long before Pagou made a raft of changes to the squad, and to call these changes brave would be … generous.

He dropped Aboubakar (likely at the order of Eto’o), ex-PSG and Bayern Munich forward Eric Choupo-Moting, and former Man United and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana, both of whom had started the country’s last 15 competitive games (keeping nine clean sheets in the process), and made some questionable call-ups to fill the void left by them.

The strangest of these call-ups came for Arnaud Mael-Kamdem, a 25-year-old free agent midfielder who most recently was playing his football in none other than the Brazilian sixth tier!

🇨🇲 Cameroon have not only made headlines for naming two squads for AFCON due to a rift between FA president Samuel Eto'o & coach Marc Brys.

They have also called up Arnaud Mael Kamdem, a free agent who has been playing in Brazil's regional leagues - the sixth tier, to be… pic.twitter.com/frgMgVnRQP

— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) December 13, 2025

An absolutely mental decision, to say the least, and it was one that quickly saw tensions rise throughout the Cameroonian football community. However, this was only the beginning of the drama.

The Power Struggle Begins

Though the decisions taken above and the resulting squad selections certainly caused controversy, there was very little pushback initially – what could people do, overthrow Eto’o as president? That was never going to happen, and for a few days at least, it looked as if Cameroon were going to head to the tournament with controversial decisions in place.

However, Marc Brys quickly re-entered the frame - claiming that he was hired by the Cameroon Ministry of Sport and not FECAFOOT, he insisted that he still had managerial power and, as such, submitted his own AFCON squad list with the likes of Onana, Choupo-Moting and Aboubakar included.

Along with his alternative squad, Brys did not need much persuading to rip into Eto’o, accusing him of being narcissistic, which ties in nicely to the accusations that he left Aboubakar out in a bid to keep him well short of his international goal record, which currently stands at 56.

🚨 Cameroon has two different squad lists for AFCON. 🇨🇲

Their head coach, Marc Brys refuses to leave, after being sacked by Cameroon FA President, Samuel Eto'o.

He was hired by the Ministry of Sports and insists he hasn't been fired.

Eto'o has even hired a new head coach,… pic.twitter.com/Ohb2gIMaBt

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 13, 2025

It seems his comments on Eto’o were the final straw, as he was then officially sacked by the very body he was using to fight his corner, the Ministry of Sports, paving the way for Pagou to officially take charge of the national team.

Upon the news coming out that Eto’o may have had a hand in Aboubakar’s exclusion from the squad, a large section of the fanbase believed there to be an agenda against their president of football, saying that since the last World Cup, the former Porto striker had done nothing for his nation and had every right to be dropped.

Had it been a standalone issue, Eto’o may well have emerged from the incident untarnished, but his subsequent decisions and apparent lack of care for his country’s AFCON hopes have seen his popularity plummet, and the fortunes of his nation at the tournament look certain to dictate whether he remains as president or is forced out should they perform poorly.

A Tall Task

Cameroon certainly have a mountain to climb if they are to be competitive at the tournament. Missing some of their most valuable and experienced players, the Indomitable Lions will be far from full strength.

AFCON week is here! 🌍
🇲🇦🇲🇱🇿🇲🇰🇲🇪🇬🇿🇦🇦🇴🇿🇼🇳🇬🇹🇳🇺🇬🇹🇿🇸🇳🇨🇩🇧🇯🇧🇼🇩🇿🇧🇫🇬🇶🇸🇩🇨🇮🇨🇲🇬🇦🇲🇿

Only the strongest will survive in Morocco — Spot the Group of Death! 👀#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #JekaBetUg pic.twitter.com/N6vdVMW2iF

— JekaBet (@Jekabet_ug) December 16, 2025

Placed in Group F alongside Gabon, Mozambique and the Ivory Coast, there are certainly no easy games for what is now David Pagou’s side, and both the new manager’s ability and the unexpected squad selections will be under heavy scrutiny at all times.

If they are to fall short, the whole debacle comes back to Eto’o, who, whether he likes it or not, will be solely at fault for Cameroon’s failure. Sacking a manager two weeks before one of the biggest international tournaments in the world is absurd, while the ensuing war of words and struggle for power was downright insanity.

Keep a close eye on Cameroon - whatever happens at the AFCON, there will be huge ramifications for both the team and those behind the scenes.