Nornalisation Committee- 19 Months After

When FIFA-approved the normalization committee in July 2013 headed by former Minister of Sports, Joseph Owona to step in and run football in Cameroon after the country was threatened with a ban from world football for governmental interference, many were of the opinion that a new page was about to be turned in the country’s football sector.
Handing them an eight month assignment to reconstruct by elaborating a new statutes for FECAFOOT, members reassured the public that all was going to be fine within the stipulated time. But in March 2014, FIFA decided to extend the mandate of the normalization committee until 30 November 2014.
    This extension for another 8 months was seen as complicity between officials of the committee and FIFA. Many were those who suspected that FIFA has joined the corruption soap in Cameroon thereby allowing the committee to enjoy the comfort of leading the Cameroon delegation to the world cup.

    The poor showing of the indomitable lions in Brazil served a serious blow to the committee; many thought they had outlived their usefulness at FECAFOOT and should go. But their resurrection came a few months later when the statutes of FECAFOOT were adopted.
    All eyes were now set for the new elections only for what many say ‘football mafia’ to interrupt the election with only one candidate eligible.
    What a story for a population of about 20million to see only perfection in one man. Giving them three months to clean their linings and hand over the house to new and fresh blood by February 28, 2015, things turn again with the public confuse of what will happen.
    While Joseph Owona and his men say they are happy for a job well done, many think that their best has not been enough to render the football sector peaceful and serene.
    In as much as some guys want FECAFOOT to be run by those who will manipulate the rules to suite them, the general public decry those who will see the post as a means of enriching themselves to the detriment of football.
    So, what happens between now and 20 March 2015 is just a matter of wait and see.
    It should be recalled that the problems in FECAFOOT began in June 2013 when Iya Mohammed was re-elected as president despite being detained by the authorities for alleged financial mismanagement at the state-owned cotton company.
    Those polls were later cancelled by FECAFOOT’s own appeals committee, after complaints from the losing candidates.
    The global suspension then followed when FIFA ruled that FECAFOOT’s vice-president John Begheni Ndeh had forcibly installed himself as president on June 28th, 2013.
    Owona was then installed to oversee the normalization of FECAFOOT and prepare the grounds for free, fair and transparent elections.