In Leverkusen, Christian Kofane is the talk of the town thanks to his goals and performances. In his home country of Cameroon, he is also making headlines—because he has apparently become part of the conflict between national coach Marc Brys and association president Samuel Eto’o.
The reason why Leverkusen’s rising star Christian Kofane has turned down two invitations from the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) is simple: The 19-year-old, who was still playing in Cameroon a year ago and made his breakthrough in Europe in the first half of 2025 with Spanish second division club Albacete, wants to focus on his new club in his first season with Champions League participants Bayer 04.
From the player’s point of view, this is an understandable desire, as he wants to really establish himself in Leverkusen and adapt to the significantly higher workload that comes with playing in the Champions League. This is why he had already informed Cameroon’s national coach Marc Brys of his decision via WhatsApp in the summer. So far, so good. But not quite.
Brys’ statement prompted Kofane’s agent to go on the offensive
This is because Christian Kofane is a controversial figure in his home country, if not at the state level, then at least at the association level, with the events surrounding the center forward’s nomination becoming part of the conflict between Brys and FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o.
Brys had stated that Kofane did not currently want to be part of the Cameroon national team. This prompted Kofane’s advisor, Eric Depolo, to go on the offensive. He wanted to avoid the impression that his protégé did not want to play for Cameroon at all.
Rather, Depolo is simply concerned about the 19-year-old, who was still playing for AS Nylon, an academy in Cameroon, a year ago. “It was a big leap for Kofi to move from Africa to the Bundesliga. The boy needs to focus on his new project with Bayer Leverkusen and use the international breaks to recover. If we don’t take care of the boy, it could break him.“
The problem is that Brys and the association reacted very differently to this request. ”We informed the national coach. He never replied. The association understood,” explains the advisor, but because the coach is in conflict with the association, he was upset that the association approved of this. Kofane is now suffering because Brys is presenting the facts differently.
Is Kofane the collateral victim in the conflict between national coach Brys and President Eto’o?
In Cameroon, Depolo brought out the big guns, talking about lies and how Brys was discrediting himself because of his problems with the association. He made these statements to RSI, Samuel Eto’o’s media company. The impression that observers are left with is that Kofane is the collateral victim in the latent conflict between Brys and the Cameroonian association, especially President Eto’o. There is now speculation in Cameroon that Kofane was ignored by Brys and is now caught between two stools because he comes from the academy of former world-class player Eto’o, whom he emulates as his role model. The accusations even go so far as to claim that Kofane is not playing for Cameroon, even though he has declared his willingness and desire to do so. Apparently, the association and the national coach are twisting the truth to suit themselves.
The player is therefore caught up in a conflict that he has nothing to do with and is being used as a pawn in it. The only thing that seems clear is that Kofane will not be making his debut for Cameroon’s senior national team anytime soon. When Kofane is physically ready for this additional strain, “he will join the national team,” says Depolo, “but step by step. He is only 19 years old. He still has plenty of time. He can come next year, or in two years, or in three.”
The idea that Kofane should focus solely on Bayer applies “for the entire season.”
However, this is unlikely to happen in the current season. The idea that Kofane should focus exclusively on Bayer 04 for the time being and needs to recover during the international break applies “for the entire season.”
However, this is unlikely to change the fact that Kofane will continue to receive invitations from FECAFOOT. Especially since the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations is on the international schedule in Morocco from December 21 to January 18. And the conflict between Brys and Eto’o is likely to continue to smolder.
