Andre Onana has been left out of Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) – with the team in chaos after head coach Marc Brys was sacked amid allegations of “subterfuge”.
Days after being re-elected as Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) president, Samuel Eto’o and his executive committee announced Brys’ dismissal in a dramatic statement., external
It featuring a long list of accusations of “professional failure” levelled at Brys, including “inciting” players to defy Fecafoot.
The Belgian – appointed by Cameroon’s sports ministry in April 2024, a decision Eto’o immediately tried to reverse – is also accused of “active collaboration with unknown individuals within Fecafoot”.
He is also accused of failing to attend meetings, refusing to disclose his training programmes, jeopardising relationships with sponsors, not releasing his squad selections on time and using “subterfuge to evade his professional obligation to hold press conferences”.
Brys is replaced by one of his assistants, David Pagou, an experienced Cameroonian coach who has managed several teams in the country’s top tier.
But Pagou’s 28-man squad for the upcoming Afcon in Morocco, which begins on 21 December, is missing several key names.
They include goalkeeper Onana, team captain Vincent Aboubakar, Napoli midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and defender Michael Ngadeu.
While Anguissa has been injured, no reason has been given for the other omissions.
