In many ways, Samuel Eto’o hasn’t changed. The former striker, now 44, remains a unique character, one of those who often speaks about themselves in the third person. But exercising power – he was re-elected on November 29 to the position of president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), which he has held since 2021 – has reshaped him and, undoubtedly, forced him to moderate his ambitions in a country where politics and football are deeply intertwined.
The Indomitable Lions, who failed to qualify for the next 2026 World Cup, begin their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign on Wednesday, December 24, with a match against Gabon. Before heading to Morocco, between a stop in Yaoundé to attend the Cameroon Cup final and a detour to Doha, Qatar, for FIFA’s The Best awards ceremony, the country’s all-time top scorer made a brief stop in Paris on December 15 for an interview.