Eto’o, a four-time African footballer of the year, was accompanied by a crowd of supporters as he submitted his bid at the Cameroonian federation’s headquarters in Yaounde.

“I urge the opposite camp to be careful because we have accepted lots of things,” Eto’o told reporters.

The 40-year-old ex-Barcelona and Inter Milan striker said the current leadership had offered him a position as vice-president, a proposition he rejected.

“I will be the next president of the federation despite all the cheating,” he declared.

Eto’o said it was “time to rebuild our football” when he announced his intention to run for president in September.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in January annulled the 2018 elections won by Seidou Mbombo Njoya, who Eto’o described as having “failed miserably”.

New elections are scheduled for December, a month before Cameroon hosts the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament delayed a year by the Covid-19 pandemic.

AFP