French justice puts Samuel Eto'o in a bad position

In the case which opposes it to the equipment manufacturer Le Coq sportif, Fecafoot lost a round. A Parisian court has just canceled the breach of contract decided by Samuel Eto'o.

It was one of the hottest issues at the start of Samuel Eto'o's term as head of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot). And the occasion of a sacred imbroglio. Last August, as the World Cup took place three months later, the newly elected president of Fecafoot went to Paris. With one objective: put an end to the contract which linked the federation to the equipment supplier of the national team, The Coq Sportif. Samuel Eto'o then announced that he had reached an agreement with another equipment supplier, still unknown in the world of football: One All Sports. Eto'o saw in the latter, "a new equipment supplier respectful of its commitments and proud to associate its name with the prestigious Indomitable Lions label".

Problem: a few weeks later, Le Coq sportif leaked, in the Cameroonian media and on social networks, a jersey model for the World Cup. If Samuel Eto'o considered the contract with Le Coq sportif broken, for financial problems, the French brand still hoped to equip the Indomitable Lions during the World Cup in Qatar, since the contract between the two parties initially ran until 31 December 2023. And at the time of Eto'o's announcement, Le Coq Sportif announced that it wanted to sue the Cameroon Football Federation for "abusive breach of contract".

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Not only did Le Coq sportif intend to ask for “compensation for the damage suffered”. But the equipment manufacturer hoped above all that justice would cancel the termination, made unilaterally, of the contract. This is exactly what the Paris court decided, which requested "the maintenance of contractual relations between the company LCS (Le Coq sportif) International and the Cameroonian Football Federation under the equipment supplier partnership and licensing contracts concluded on January 10, 2020, until the end of the contract, i.e. December 31, 2023”. In addition to this decision, Fecafoot will have to “pay the company LCS International the sum of 3 euros, for irrecoverable costs”.

We know the determination of Samuel Eto'o. It remains to be seen whether the president of Fecafoot will accept the court decision or whether he will take the risk of having his players wear tunics designed by One All Sports during the World Cup. In the meantime, Fecafoot will appeal. And decided, on November 4, to officially present his new jersey.

On November 9, the Indomitable Lions will face Jamaica. It will then be interesting to observe the outfits of the players, who will certainly wear the jersey designed by One All Sports. Because despite the court's decision, Fecafoot considers itself aggrieved by Le Coq sportif, which should have paid it the 375 euros provided for in the contract for the first half of 000 and 2022 euros provided for after the Cameroonian qualification for the World Cup .

According to the local press, everything is actually based on a payment schedule put in place before Samuel Eto'o took over as president. The latter considers the agreement with the supplier null and void. The president of Fecafoot must now face a puzzle: save face, at the risk of being heavily sanctioned by the courts, or accept the decision of the Paris court, at the risk of recording his very first big failure. .