Ex-Cameroon striker Messi Bouli discusses Eto’o, World Cup ambitions before AFCON 2027 qualifiers

Raphael Messi Bouli played for Cameroon in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and was also part of the national team setup for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. | Photo Credit: Instagram/Raphael Messi Bouli (AI enhanced)

Until recently, Cameroon had been one of the most consistent sides from Africa to feature in the FIFA World Cup. Between 1982 and 2014, across nine editions, it played in seven of them.

But in the last three editions, it has missed the berth twice. Its legend, Samuel Eto’o, has made headlines for the wrong reasons as president of the Cameroon FA, and the Indomitable Lions find themselves lost in the savannah, looking for a stage to roar again.

“It’s not only about Cameroon. Heavyweights like Italy didn’t play in the last World Cup. It’s about seizing the moment. When you play qualifiers, you have to capitalise … We didn’t get the points we were supposed to,” laments former Cameroon international Raphael Messi Bouli.

Messi Bouli played for Cameroon in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and was also part of the national team setup for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

“The federation and the new coach are trying to build a new team with young players. This is good. It’s a new policy. They played well in the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and now they are playing in the qualifiers,” he adds.

A fertile hub for football talent

Cameroon is the second-most successful team in the AFCON, with five titles, and plays Namibia on Thursday in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers. The African nation, needless to say, is a fertile land for nurturing some of the icons of the game – the magic of Patrick Mboma (whom Messi Bouli admires), the goals of Samuel Eto’o and the celebrations of Roger Milla.

But it has also exported talent, some of the best in recent times — Samuel Umtiti (a 2018 World Cup winner with France) and Breel Embolo (a FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinalist), while the roots of some trace back to the Central African Nation, like Kylian Mbappe (a two-time World Cup finalist) and Aurelien Tchouameni (a UEFA Champions League winner and a World Cup runner-up).

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Does that hurt Cameroon’s footballing ambitions? “I don’t think so. You cannot blame them because they have the opportunity to play there. They are also giving back,” Messi Bouli insists, citing examples of Mbappe’s Inspired by KM (IBKM) or Umtiti’s Umantiti, both of which work on humanitarian projects in Cameroon.

“That’s something I’m also proud of. Football is not only what you see, but it’s also what you cannot see behind,” Messi Bouli says.

With great power comes great responsibility

Football has the power to unite people and transform them into heroes overnight. But with great power comes great responsibility. Eto’o, Cameroon’s record goalscorer and a European treble winner with two different clubs, moved into administration after retirement, after hanging up his boots in 2019.

But his leadership, as president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT), has been marred by match-fixing allegations (2023-24), disciplinary sanctions by FIFA (2024) and, most recently, embezzlement allegations relating to payments by Russia in 2023.

But Messi Bouli believes the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker at the top of the football body is a step in the right direction. “I think he’s doing well. … not everything is good, but we can see the improvement. And the only thing he needs now is support,” the forward, who now plays in the Indian Super League, says.

Under Eto’o’s presidency, FECAFOOT invested extensively in resources – financial and infrastructural – to develop grassroots and professionalise clubs, which saw the men’s Under-20 team win gold at the 2023 Francophonie Games, while the women’s U-20 team qualified for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

“When you reach somewhere, with the name he has, people expect you to give more, and change things automatically. It’s not like that. Every process takes time. He’s trying to come up with his philosophy to improve Cameroonian football. You have to be patient with him,” Messi Bouli adds.

Cameroon qualified for the World Cup in Eto’o’s first year of presidency, and Messi Bouli believes that when all pieces of the puzzle of development come together, the Indomitable Lions will find their way back to the World Cup four years later.

In the current round, the team has moved on from older veterans like Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (37), Nicolas Nkoulou (36) and Vincent Aboubakar (34) to younger prospects like Angel Yondjo (19), Geovanni Ndjee (19) and Harouna Djibirin (20).

“There is a good team, a new team with new players. Let’s see. I think we will play in the next World Cup. There is no doubt about that. But we have to work and try to keep going,” Messi Bouli says.