FIFA extends mandate of FECAFOOT Normalisation Committee again

The mandate of the Normalisation Committee created by FIFA in 2013 to put in place an executive management body for the Cameroon Football Federation commonly known by its French acronym, FECAFOOT, has been extended to March 20.

The mandate of the Committee which is led by Joseph Owona was due to end on Saturday February 28. The world football governing body expected that the Committee would have pushed through with the election of a new management team for FECAFOOT after an election which was scheduled for February 25.

The winner-takes-all election for the post of president of FECAFOOT was annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS, a few days to the planned election, of which Tombi a Roko, Secretary General of the federation and Robert Atah, one of its officials were to compete as the only candidates for the post of president; they had two separate lists of potential members of the executive.

CAS made it illegal for the elections to be held, after it ruled in favour of Essomba Eyanga and Abdouraman Hamadou in complaint number 2014/A/3829.

The complaint criticised new statutes which the Committee drew up for FECAFOOT.

The decision of the Court brought to nought, elections that were conducted at the divisional and regional football leagues in the build up to the election of a national executive for FECAFOOT.

The Conciliation and Arbitrary Chambers of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee, CNOSC, had cancelled the general assembly of 23rd August 2014 which validated the statutes and the electoral process put in place by the Normalisation Committee and backed by FIFA- a decision which was snubbed by the Joseph Owona committee which differed with CNSOC.

The CAS decision vindicated Essomba Eyanga and Abdouraman Hamadou who argued that, with conflicting articles in the new statutes, the competent general assembly that could oversee elections in the Federation was that of 2009 and not August 23, 2013 which the Normalisation Committee picked.

Sports analysts had pointed out that FIFA would either for a third time, extend the mandate of the Normalisation Committee which was installed in July 2013 or set up a Provisional Management Committee to oversee the affairs of FECAFOOT and put in place an executive management team.

The first mandate which FIFA deemed sufficient to resolve the FECAFOOT ruckus was eight months.