Cameroon has made progress following their meeting with FIFA President, Joseph Sepp Blatter a few days ago.
Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
After the July 4 2013 provisionary suspension of Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, by the world governing body, FIFA, there was a recommendation that the country had to come up with a normalisation committee to run football in the country for the suspension to be lifted. This has been done and the bulk of the members are lawyers and individuals with a deep knowledge in constitutional matters.
FIFA banned Cameroon after what they termed “government interference”, following the outcome of the June 19 2013 election of FECAFOOT that witnessed the re-election of Iya Muhammed. Days after the re-election of Iya Muhammed, the Vice – President and candidate for the election, John Begheni Ndeh, filed for the cancellation of the election by the FECAFOOT Commission for Ethics saying; “The convocation for the election was irregular and not in accordance with the statutes of FECAFOOT.”
The normalisation committee will revise the statutes of FECAFOOT and organise elections of the new office bearers before March 31 2014.
The Joseph Owona led team is due official installation Monday, July 22 2013 to commence its work at the FECAFOOT head office in Tsinga, Yaoundé.
Following the FIFA – Cameroon consultations, the designated members are:
President – Joseph Owona. He is former Minister of Sports, Minister of National Education, one time Secretary General in the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon and university don.
Vice President – Emmanuel Ngassa Happi. He is former President of Union Football Club of Douala
Members:
Michel Kaham: Former Indomitable Lion player and coach of the Indomitable Lions.
Ebenezer Mouloké: Lawyer, former Director of Standards at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education
Ephraim Ngwafor: Lawyer, former minister, former rector of the University of Yaoundé II
Pascal Baylon Owona: Former captain of the Lions, former President of FECAFOOT
David N’Hanack Tonye: Former Secretary General of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education
James Mouangue Kobila: Lawyer, Head of Department of Public Law at the University of Douala
Jonathan Fombe: Lawyer
Amadou Evelé: Lawyer, former Director General of the National Expansion and Modernisation Company for the Cultivation of Rice, SEMRY, in Yagoua.
Adolphe Minkoa She: Lawyer, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Yaoundé II.
The FIFA and CAF representatives are; Primo Corvaro and Prosper Abega respectively.
With the nomalisation committee now in place, Cameroon’s suspension in various competitions; regional, continental, international, including inter clubs and friendlies will be lifted.
They are expected to manage the activities of FECAFOOT henceforth, review the statutes and organise elections into the Executive Bureau. The verdict of the elections and final assignment of the nomalisation committee will not be open for any contestation.
Before this recent development, the government of Cameroon, Thursday, July 18 2013 dispatched a three-man delegation to the FIFA head office in Zurich, Switzerland to discuss with FIFA President, Sepp Blatter on how to douse the tension raging between Cameroon and FIFA. The Cameroon government delegation was headed by Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, a diplomat by training, Adoum Garoua, Minister of Sports and Physical Education and Cameroon’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Leonard Henri Bindzi.
