The claims were published by The Times in London and reported by Al Jazeera. Former executives of FECAFOOT allege the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker redirected funds linked to a 2023 friendly between Cameroon and Russia.
According to documents cited by The Times, the Russian Football Union was asked to make two payments — €455,056 and €112,514, totalling €567,570 (about $665,000) — into an account held by Eto’o at Qatar National Bank in Doha. The match was played in Moscow in October 2023.
Former FECAFOOT officials say they cannot find accounting records showing the money was later transferred to a federation account. They told The Times they submitted complaints to FIFA’s ethics committee more than a year ago and have received no substantive update.
Al Jazeera requested comment from FECAFOOT, CAF and FIFA. It reported no reply from the federation or CAF at the time of publication. It is understood that Eto’o denies the allegations.
In a Facebook statement reported by Africanews, Eto’o called the claims a smear campaign that followed his public defence of Cameroonian and African football interests.
Eto’o, 45, scored 56 goals in 118 appearances for Cameroon and has been FECAFOOT president since 2021. He also sits on the CAF executive committee.
The allegations add to a series of controversies. CAF suspended him for four national-team matches in January 2026 after alleged misbehaviour during Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations defeat by Morocco. FIFA previously banned him from attending national-team matches for six months over misconduct at the 2020 U-20 Women’s World Cup. He later apologised after being filmed attacking a man outside a stadium at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
No finding has been published by FIFA’s ethics committee. The payments remain the subject of disputed accounts between Eto’o’s critics and the federation president.