Brys takes over as Cameroon coach amid Eto'o resistance

Belgian football manager, Marc Brys, has been handed a 29 months contract as head coach of the Cameroon national team for an undisclosed fee, though his appointment by the government has been rejected by the country’s FA.

Brys inked his contract with the Cameroon Ministry of Sports in Yaounde on Monday at a ceremony boycotted by the Cameroon Football Federation, (Fecafoot).

Cameroon Sports Minister, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi who penned the contract on behalf of the government challenged the new head coach and other members of the technical, administrative and medical staff to “get to work immediately” and ensure the Indomitable Lions regain winning glory. 

“In the short term, you have to qualify the Indomitable Lions for the next Fifa World Cup, qualify and ensure an honourable participation of the team at the next Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco,” Kombi tasked the new coach, promising that, “like in the past, the government is ready to accompany you achieve this objective”.

The first assignment for Brys and his deputies will certainly be to win two Fifa World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Cape Verde and Angola in June.

Though Fecafoot was conspicuously absent at the ceremony, Mouelle Kombi said all soccer stakeholders in the country, “beginning with Fecafoot” have to play their role in contributing to the success of the new technical staff which “has been recruited by the state and put at the disposal of Fecafoot”.

Brys is on his maiden international experience and also first coaching job in Africa with Cameroon. The Belgian tactician, who comes in as a free agent has coached 15 clubs mainly in Belgium, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia in his 25-year career with his most recent stint at Belgian Pro League side, Leuven, ending in October 2023.

Fecafoot did not however attend the event. In a letter to the Sports Ministry, the FA president Samuel Eto’o Fils acknowledged that Fecafoot had been invited to the contract signing ceremony but they could not attend because “we are busy organising the funeral of our late father”.

The funeral of David Eto’o, the Fecafoot president’s late dad will take place at the weekend.

The FA president’s absence at the unveiling of the new coach further exposed an ostensible cold war between him and the minister. Eto’o had earlier rejected the appointment of the Belgian by the minister on grounds the FA was not consulted in his selection process as the law says.

In a rebuttal, the minister justified that the appointment of the new coach did not violate any “supranational regulations”.

Kombi disclosed that Fecafoot had sent a shortlist of three candidates whose financial demands were deemed too exorbitant by the working group in charge of selecting the head coach.

According to documents leaked online, the shortlist proposed by Fecafoot to the Minister of Sports comprised of Herve Renard (France), Jose Peseiro (Portugal) and Fabio Cannavaro (Italy).

However, the explanations did not still go down well with the Fecafoot president who gathered his vice presidents for an emergency meeting at the weekend at the end of which they empowered him to propose an alternative list of coaching staff for the national team within 72 hours from the day of the meeting that was held last Saturday.