During the National Days of the Diasporas and Africa, Samuel Eto'o raised the problem, according to him, of binationality in football and called for focusing on players born in African countries.
This weekend took place the National Days of the Diasporas and Africa, in Bordeaux. Present, Samuel Eto'o was invited to comment on binationality in football. “I do not want to have a Kylian Mbappé who was born in Bordeaux in our national team but to have Kylian Mbappé who were born in our working-class neighborhoods in Cameroon. Because there are talents in our territories to be valued,” said the former Indomitable Lion, now president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot).
“I do not want to have a Kylian Mbappé who was born in Bordeaux in our national team but to have Kylian Mbappé who were born in our working-class neighborhoods in Cameroon. Because there are talents on our territories to develop. »
Samuel Eto'o at the JNDA. 🦁🇨🇲 pic.twitter.com/Sq9SUMxf3W- GoLesLions (@AllezLesLions) March 26, 2022
Samuel Eto'o had warned, during his electoral campaign, to want highlight the training of young people in his country. He then explained: “Africans have a lot of talent, Europeans a little less. But the Europeans have understood something: training. Training is the magic of all success.” If the objective of the president of Fecafoot is to rely on a pool of footballers who would have been born in Africa, theComments, especially in the press and on social networks, are mixed regarding his release.
Senegal relies on its dual nationals
Because for many years, African national teams have relied on dual nationals. Senegal, who have just won the African Cup of Nations, was able to count on his compatriots born abroad to go to the end of the competition, from the goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, born in France, to the Franco-Senegalese Abdou Diallo, who plays today at PSG.
⭐🇸🇳⭐ This man's behavior is simply exemplary. He definitely won the RESPECT and the HEART of the Senegalese.
It has radically changed the view that some may have of “binationals”.@Nabyleu @fatima_bocoum #Sn221 #kebetu #TeamSenegal pic.twitter.com/DOho3fN7pF— FfallPost🇸🇳⭐ (@ModelLecitoyen) February 9, 2022
Should we then, as Samuel Eto'o says, do without dual nationals and bet on his players born in the country? European training centers are generally good springboards for young dual nationals who, for some, earn their spurs in the U15, U17 or Espoirs teams of their host countries before turning to their original selections. This is the case of Moussa Sow who, after winning Euro 2005 with the France under-19 team, opted for the Senegalese selection in 2009.
Something to upset the French. In April 2011, François Blaquart, then national technical director of French football, lamented that “FIFA has sold itself copiously to African nations. These are election issues. These countries have managed to ensure that there is much more flexibility and openness in the regulations”. Indeed, a player who was trained in a European country and who played for national youth teams can then choose another country to play for.
Players proud of their origins
The national technical direction of French football affirmed, in 2011, that approximately half of the young people of the African national selections were dual nationals. This figure has not changed much lately. By claiming to want players born on his own soil, Samuel Eto'o seems disconnected from reality.
However, a real question also arises: that of the nationalism of binational players. Summoned by Burkina Faso for the CAN, FC Basel defender Nasser Djiga did not accept the summons, declaring that he wanted to leave room for players who felt truly Burkinabe. Other dual nationals before him, however, have accepted to play for their countries of origin, such as the Moroccan Youssef El Arabi, who said he was "delighted and proud to wear the jersey of the bled". Mahrez, he had preferred Algeria to France, affirming his “attachment to Algeria”.
However, Eto'o's statement is not insignificant, because Cameroon has specificities that other countries do not: Cameroon does not recognize dual citizenship and, if a player accepts a Cameroonian passport , he must hope for a decree so as not to be stripped of his other nationality. However, Fecafoot ensures that its Indomitable Lions benefit from such facilities.