Eto’o Backs Infantino’s FIFA Re-Election Bid Amid UEFA Opposition

Cameroon Football Federation president Samuel Eto’o has pledged his support to Gianni Infantino ahead of FIFA’s presidential election in March, arguing that the current FIFA president has provided practical development support to African football despite increasing resistance from UEFA figures.

What changed for the club

Eto’o, the former Cameroon striker and current FECAFOOT president, has publicly placed himself behind Infantino as the FIFA leader faces calls from within European football to leave office. His intervention centres on the FIFA Forward programme, which has contributed funding for federation facilities and development work across Africa.

The FECAFOOT president said the investment had given African associations a greater opportunity to build infrastructure and establish pathways for emerging players. He pointed to new federation headquarters as visible evidence of the programme’s effect, explaining that local bodies had financed part of those projects while FIFA had supplied the remaining support.

“Football is already a commercial product,” Eto’o said, arguing that the companies funding the game through advertising are largely tied to European interests and clubs. He questioned why African federations should not similarly pursue their own priorities.

Eto’o said the funding could help produce future generations of leading African players, invoking Roger Milla and Kylian Mbappé as examples of the level of talent such investment could support.

Competition context

Infantino has been criticised by UEFA leaders amid concerns about FIFA governance and claims that established procedures have been sidestepped. Eto’o rejected the suggestion that major FIFA policies lack democratic legitimacy, stressing that the organisation’s 211 member associations have voting power through the General Assembly.

He maintained that projects including FIFA Forward are approved by federation presidents rather than imposed without consultation.

Eto’o acknowledged UEFA’s substantial place in the world game and its major contribution to FIFA, but said Europe should not be treated as the sole central voice in football. He argued that the financial conditions facing African federations are markedly different, with some relying on state support for between 95% and 100% of their budgets.

• Eto’o said African associations often operate alongside governments facing severe economic pressures.
• He defended FIFA development funding as necessary for facilities, administration and youth-player development.
• He said revenues generated by major World Cups must be reinvested across the global game.

The Cameroon official also cited the profits from the World Cups in Qatar and the United States as the type of tournament income required to finance football development. He said running an organisation that governs a sport with worldwide appeal brings inevitable scrutiny, but insisted that resources remain essential if federations are to improve their structures.

What is scheduled next

The next major decision comes at FIFA’s presidential election in March. Eto’o accepted that an election always carries the possibility of defeat, but confirmed that he will continue to back Infantino.

His support adds an influential African federation voice to the debate over FIFA’s direction, with development finance, World Cup income and the balance of influence between UEFA and the other confederations set to remain central issues before the vote.