Central African Republic: Tensions flare between football federation and sports ministry

A bombshell announcement has sent shockwaves across the Central African Republic. On Tuesday, June 10, Sports Minister Heritier Doneng personally published a two-page decree on his Facebook page, ordering the removal of five members of the Central African Football Federation—including president Célestin Yanindji—from all administrative activities.

The decree lists four charges against the sanctioned officials: "Willful refusal to inform and request official authorization for the national team’s travel, insulting the national A team, violating the core values of football, and refusing to submit administrative and financial reports."

Ongoing tensions

This decision comes in the wake of a friendly match against Tunisia, which the Central African team boycotted as players demanded bonuses from their 2-1 victory over Mauritania. As a result, the ministry has barred the suspended officials from representing Central African football at both national and international levels for six months.

With these sanctions, the conflict between the Sports Minister and the Federation has reignited. At the same time, Minister Heritier Doneng has called on the Central Sports Inspectorate to conduct an audit of the Federation’s use of public funds. In response, the Federation issued a statement reminding that the minister has no authority to suspend executive board members who are not state employees. The Federation also condemned what it called a campaign of harassment by Heritier Doneng, vowing “to exhaust every legal avenue to clarify this relentless pursuit.”

Lydiane N'Po |

Editorfr, en

Sports journalist specializing in African football, covering football news, exclusive stories and digital content for passionate fans of the game.