Eto’o Denies Collecting $160,000 for 2010 Wc

Yaounde

18 June 2011

Cameroon international striker and captain of the Indomitable Lions, Samuel Eto’o Fils says for the past three years, he has not touched a franc of the participation allowances due him for taking part in the Africans Nations Cup qualifiers, the Nations Cup finals in Angola, the World Cup qualifiers and the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

The allowances put together amount to 80 million FCFA (about US$160,000). In a televised interview with a local television channel STV last weekend, Eto’o said besides not taking the allowances due to him, he paid for his air tickets to the various matches out of pocket, yet there were financial allocations for the purchase of air tickets for all players, including Eto’o.

The declarations by Eto’o Fils have thrown the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) and the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education into panic as questions are now being raised as to who pocketed the money intended for Eto’o.

Officials of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education from which the Administrator of the Indomitable Lions, André Nguidjol is seconded to the national team hold very strongly that they have evidence to show that Eto’o duly signed and collected his share of the participation allowances.

Asked if he was sure the money which he did not claim was returned to the public treasury, or whether it might not have been collected by some other persons and whether he did not really collect the money, Eto’o insists: “I don’t think anybody else could have collected the money in my name.

One should at least have confidence in the people who manage our national team. I am not going to verify whether they did. I don’t think they would go so low as to collect the money.

The money belongs to the state and I said so to Messrs Landry and Nfuidjol who are in charge of the national team”.

Eto’o said each time he is invited to play for the national team, “I come to play for my country.

Whenever there is a match somewhere, I don’t wait for them to pay for my ticket. I buy my air ticket myself, I come, I play with my brothers and I take my plane and go back”.

When this reporter called the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education to get Nguidjol’s own side of the story, he was told the Manager of the Indomitable Lions had travelled out of the country.

The Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Michel Edzoa on his part says he did not know that Eto’o had not been claiming his match participation allowances, nor that he had been paying his way to take part in matches out of pocket.

He said he only knew about what had been happening when he watched Eto’o on STV making the declaration.

Who is telling the truth? Eto’o or the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education?

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