Sport
Roger Milla removed as Cameroon soccer federation honorary president
Roger Milla. PHOTO/File
Cameroon great Roger Milla has been removed as honorary president of the country’s football (soccer) federation after criticizing top officials.
Cameroon’s federation, FECAFOOT, stripped Milla of his title late Wednesday at its annual general assembly over what it called his “attacks” on the body in the last year and his call for public demonstrations against FECAFOOT.
Milla, who led Cameroon to the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup and is recognized as one of Africa’s great players, told The Associated Press his dismissal was “a great relief” and promised to continue his campaign to remove the federation leadership, which he believes is hampering Cameroon’s national team.
The 59-year-old Milla criticized FECAFOOT president Mohammed Iya and other officials over several issues, including Cameroon’s failure to qualify for January’s African Cup of Nations and disciplinary action against player Samuel Eto’o.
Eto’o was suspended from national team duty for leading a player protest against the federation last year over unpaid match fees.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time now,” Milla told the AP. “The decision by FECAFOOT doesn’t hurt me in the least. I was not an employee of FECAFOOT. I was simply providing a helping hand to them to see that our country’s football gets sanity.
“But I’ve got to tell you that we’re continuing our fight to get the present management of Fecafoot out of office.”
Milla’s criticism of the federation came to the fore after Eto’o was banned for 15 matches for his role in a players’ strike over the unpaid fees which forced the cancellation of an international in Algeria in November.
Milla and the players’ union said the suspension was excessive, and the federation later reduced Eto’o’s ban to eight months, effectively four games.
Coach Denis Lavagne, meanwhile, recalled Ajax midfielder Eyong Enoh to Cameroon’s squad for World Cup and African Cup qualifiers next month. Enoh also was suspended by Fecafoot last year for his part in the players’ strike.
Eto’o is still banned and will miss World Cup qualifiers against Congo on June 2 and Libya on June 10 as well as Cameroon’s second-leg home game against Guinea-Bissau in 2013 African Cup qualifying. Cameroon leads that tie 1-0.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press