Michael Ngadeu says the identity of the person who wrote the controversial statement issued by Cameroon’s players at the Hilton Hotel in Yaounde remains unknown.
The former Cameroon defender revisited the episode during a relaxed Facebook live alongside Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu, more than a year and a half after the players’ declaration caused a major stir.
“Until today, we do not know who wrote the letter. We came across it and read it, but we do not know the author,” Ngadeu said.
The statement was delivered in March 2025, when Cameroon’s players, led by captain Vincent Aboubakar, publicly criticised the problems affecting the national team. At the time, the squad was caught in an escalating dispute between Samuel Eto’o, president of the Federation Camerounaise de Football (Fecafoot), and Marc Brys, coach of the Lions Indomptables.
Although the players publicly backed the document, its authorship was never established. Ngadeu and Ngamaleu said during the Facebook broadcast that they had only seen and read the text, and had not taken part in writing it.
Their comments, made in a light-hearted exchange with other people present, have nevertheless prompted fresh discussion on social media. In particular, a reference to “Kassongo” – a nickname associated with Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana – was interpreted by some users as a possible allusion to him.
There is no evidence, however, that Ngadeu or Ngamaleu identified Onana as the writer. Their remarks were ambiguous and did not amount to an explicit accusation.
What happened at the Hilton?
The incident took place on 24 March 2025, on the eve of Cameroon’s decisive 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Libya.
The Lions Indomptables called a press conference at their base at the Hilton Hotel in Yaounde. With his team-mates around him, Aboubakar read a statement calling for tensions between Fecafoot and the Ministry of Sports to be brought to an end.
The players also complained that the dispute was disrupting their preparations and demanded that Joachim Mununga, Marc Brys’ assistant, be allowed to return to the bench.
The intervention was widely viewed as support for the Belgian coach during his conflict with Eto’o. It further exposed the divisions surrounding the national team.
Relations between the Fecafoot president and several senior players, including Ngadeu, Aboubakar and Onana, subsequently deteriorated sharply. All three were left out during the major changes made before CAN 2025, although it would be difficult to attribute their absences solely to the Hilton affair.
They are now not part of the national-team set-up.
Nineteen months after the statement was issued, the question of who wrote it continues to generate debate. Despite the amused comments from Ngadeu and Ngamaleu, the author remains unknown to the wider public.