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International Arbitration Forum

Seidou Mbombo Njoya v. Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF)

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
Seidou Mbombo Njoya (Cameroon) v. Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF)
Case no.
CAS 2025/A/11163 (consolidated with CAS 2025/A/11164 Maclean Cortez Letshwiti v. CAF; separate awards)
Forum and rules
Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeal procedure under the Code of Sports-related Arbitration (expedited procedure under Article R52(4)); award rendered on the written submissions
Treaty
Arbitration clause: Article 48(1) of the CAF Statutes (2024)
Tribunal
Bernhard Welten (Switzerland), Sole Arbitrator
Sector
Football; sports governance; elections
Outcome
Appeal dismissed to the extent admissible. The CAF Executive Committee's decision not to list the Appellant as an eligible candidate for the CAF Executive Committee election of 12 March 2025 is confirmed (operative part 3 March 2025; reasoned award 19 June 2025).

The dispute

Seidou Mbombo Njoya, former president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) and a member of the CAF Executive Committee (COMEX) from 2021 to 2025, submitted his candidacy for a second COMEX term directly to the CAF General Secretariat on 5 November 2024. FECAFOOT did not nominate or support him. The CAF Governance Committee declared him ineligible on 24 January 2025, holding that under Article 18(5) of the CAF Statutes even outgoing members must be nominated by their national association. COMEX accepted the Committee's list of nine eligible candidates by a round-robin vote on WhatsApp on 26 January 2025, and the list was sent out with the agenda of the Extraordinary General Assembly. The Appellant argued that the Committee had no power to decide, that his right to be heard was violated, that the WhatsApp vote was invalid, and that Article 18(5) makes outgoing members re-eligible without nomination by their association. CAF argued that the appeal was inadmissible against a mere recommendation, that any procedural defect was cured by the CAS appeal, and that every candidate must be nominated by a national association.

Key holdings

  1. Under the CAF Statutes the Governance Committee has only a power of recommendation in electoral matters, unless it acts by delegation of COMEX, which it did not do here. The appeal is therefore inadmissible against the Committee's 24 January 2025 "decision" and admissible only against the COMEX decision. That appeal was filed within the 21-day time limit of Article R49 of the Code. ¶¶ 86–93
  2. The CAS's full power of review under Article R57 cures any violation of the right to be heard in the earlier proceedings. The Sole Arbitrator therefore did not rule on the Appellant's right-to-be-heard complaints. ¶ 98
  3. A round-robin vote in a WhatsApp group is a valid decision by "other means of written communication" under Article 22(15) of the 2024 CAF Statutes. Under Swiss law no special form was required, and the Secretary General's voting instructions (signed reply forms) were not a form imposed by law. COMEX validly adopted the list of eligible candidates on 26 January 2025: 13 of the 20 members who voted accepted it, against a quorum of 11. The Appellant failed to prove his allegations of irregularity. ¶¶ 21, 103–110, 116
  4. The Sole Arbitrator found the process questionable. The Committee exceeded its statutory role by declaring candidates ineligible instead of recommending through a control sub-commission. The General Secretariat dated the agenda containing the candidate list 24 January 2025, before COMEX approved it, and COMEX never saw the names or the reasons for the excluded candidates. These irregularities did not make the COMEX decision null. ¶¶ 111–116
  5. The statutes of a major sports association such as CAF are interpreted with the methods used for statutes (literal, systematic, teleological, historical), not those for contracts. The contra proferentem rule therefore does not apply. ¶¶ 129–130
  6. Article 18(5) of the CAF Statutes does not let an outgoing COMEX member stand without nomination by his national association. The right to propose candidates belongs exclusively to the national associations (Article 6(1)(d)). "Re-eligible" means only that outgoing members may be proposed again within the term limits. Any other reading would create unequal treatment between candidates, who must all be subject to a single regime. Whether an association may propose several candidates was left open. ¶¶ 131–138
  7. The appeal is dismissed to the extent admissible. The COMEX decision not listing the Appellant among the candidates for the 12 March 2025 election is confirmed. The costs paragraphs are redacted in the published award. Operative part

Procedural history

  1. 10 October 2024CAF General Secretariat announces the election of 12 March 2025 and opens nominations, stating that national associations will send candidates' names.
  2. 5 November 2024The Appellant submits his candidacy for a second COMEX term directly to the CAF General Secretariat, without FECAFOOT's nomination.
  3. 24 January 2025After a hearing, the CAF Governance Committee declares the Appellant ineligible (4 votes against eligibility, 1 abstention).
  4. 26 January 2025COMEX approves the list of nine eligible candidates by round-robin vote in a WhatsApp group. The agenda of the Extraordinary General Assembly with the list is sent to member associations.
  5. 27 January 2025COMEX meets in Rabat and takes note of the round-robin vote.
  6. 3 February 2025The Appellant files his statement of appeal with the CAS and requests the expedited procedure.
  7. 13 February 2025Bernhard Welten is designated Sole Arbitrator; the case is consolidated with CAS 2025/A/11164 (confirmed 20 February 2025).
  8. 18 February 2025The CAS informs the Parties of the constitution of the Panel.
  9. 3 March 2025Operative part of the award notified: appeal dismissed.
  10. 19 June 2025Reasoned award issued.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
  • Bernhard Welten Sole arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport — appointed by the parties jointly

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Keywords

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.

Case ID
CAS 2025/A/11163
Claimant
Seidou Mbombo Njoya
Respondent
Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF)
Documents

Procedure: Appeal
Sport: Football
Matter: Governance
Outcome: Dismissed
Panel: Bernhard Welten
Source: Court of Arbitration for Sport case database.