The newly re-elected President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto’o, has dismissed head coach Marc Brys and appointed David Pagou as the new head coach ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. This comes shortly after his re-election as FA President .
The persistent public clashes between the Belgian -born coach and the FA President ended abruptly as FECAFOOT cited ” insubordination, unprofessional conduct, and a persistent refusal to collaborate” as the reasons for his termination.
In his place, Eto’o has turned inward, appointing David Pagou who has three decades of grassroots coaching experience in Cameroon . As the new head coach, Pagou will be assisted by Alexandre Belinga.
However ,the first official act of Pagou has raised public concerns: the release of his AFCON squad list_the new coach has sidelined key players like goalkeeper Andre Onana, former captain Vincent Aboubakar, Bayern Munich’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, and midfield linchpins like Frank Zambo Anguissa and Michael Ngadeu. The omission extends to Martin Hongla, Jackson Tchatchoua and Moumi Ngamaleu, effectively dismantling people considered to be the backbone of the team.
While others decry the loss of the nation’s “best eight players” others turn to applaud the decision, arguing that the team had grown stale and in need of ” fresh legs and minds”.
Pagou in his first address, he declared a return to discipline and passion ” I’m a child of a military man, so we’ll try to restore discipline, give a new image to this team…my goal, with my senior colleagues, is to bring back joy to Cameroonians ” . His philosophy is built on a domestic career, most notably guiding PWD Bamenda to a historic Elite One title and Cameroon Cup double. The New head Coach left Cosmos de Bafia, Stade Renard de Melong, and Renaissance de Ngoumou to the pinnacle of Cameroon football.
