FECAFOOT on all fronts

The president of the Normalisation Committee of Fecafoot, Joseph Owona granted a press conference on Friday October 31, at the seat of the association in Yaounde to clarify the public on certain topical issues.

As such Joseph Owona disclosed that the Normalisation Committee met the previous day and validated elections at the Divisional level, approved the membership of RFC and adopted texts related to the code of discipline, ethics, good conduct and most especially the guidelines of the Football Arbitration Tribunal.

Olympic Committee Verdict It is worthy to note that the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of the National Olympic and Sports Committee played a great role in the quagmire that led to the setting up of the Normalisation Committee by cancelling elections in nine of the ten regional leagues.

The chamber is therefore faithful to their logic when they say it was illegal for these suspended leagues to take part in the general assembly that adopted the new statutes of Fecafoot.

Also they say article 78 of the new statutes violates the Olympic and sports charter in Cameron and therefore annuls the resolution of the general assembly of 23rd August, 2014. Both parties have 21 days to appeal the verdict of the chamber at the International Court of arbitration in sports, TAS. Professor Mikoa She, member of the Normalisation committee, stressed that the decision was not yet finite as Fecafoot still had a right to appeal.

On Elections According to professor Owona, the Normalisation committee sitting in for the electoral commission validated election results at the divisional level and declared that in conformity with the FIFA decision of July 3rd, the results are finite and not liable to any further appeal.

In all, he said ten appeals were made, four approved and six rejected while elections were suspended in three divisions.

The professor who was assisted by fellow university don, Minkoa She, announced that elections at the Regional level will take place on November 7th and that the committee will continue its work with serenity, an allusion to the decision of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of the Olympic Committee

On Player Association Membership Fecafoot declared that only the “Rassemblement des footballeurs du Cameroun” RFC, deposited an application for membership as was requested by the Normalisation Committee. Consequently, RFC was the only players association to be granted membership. However the declaration of Fecafoot contrasts with that of the “Syndicat des footballeurs camerounais” SYNAFOC, which claims to have applied also and states that they are the only player association recognized by Fifa and FIFPRO.

On Football Tribunal Of the four texts adopted by the Normalisation Committee of October 30, the most problematic is that related to the guidelines of the Tribunal for Arbitration in Football. It contains a clause which says both parties can only go to the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration in sports at the National Olympic and sports Committee if both parties consent.

Besides the issue of consent, another clause specifies that the decisions of the Football Tribunal can only be appealed at the International Court of Arbitration.

These clauses were challenged by the president of Etoile Filante football club of Garoua, Abdurrahman Hamadou at the level of the Olympic Committee and won.

The Chamber claims the clause is in contradiction with law of 15th July 2011 related to the organization sports federations in Cameroon and the Olympic Charter which states that belligerents can seek the arbitration of the Olympic Committee as a last resort on the national level and TAS, at the international level. With Fecafoot claiming a right of appeal, we are in for another legal battle.