Dawn Of A New Era In African Football!
African Football has been given new hope after South African billionaire businessman, and founder of Mamelodi Sundowns Dr. Patrice Motsepe was finally elected CAF president unopposed during the organization’s 43rd meeting held in Rabat, Morroco on 12 March 2021.
Motsepe, 59, who becomes the seventh CAF president, was elected unopposed by the member Associations after the withdrawal of other three candidates, namely Augustin Senghor, Ahmed Yahya and Jacques Anouma from the race to be President in a unity stance to support the favorable candidacy of Motsepe.
The South African businessman and philanthropist is the second candidate from the COSAFA region to be elected at the helm of African Football after the outgoing Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad and the first from Africa’s English speaking nations in the organization’s 64 year history.
In his first address, the new CAF president elect promised to take African Football to new heights.
“I’m very excited. There is a great deal of urgency of getting things done. There is a going to be a lot of work and a lot of running. We have to make sure that African football is not just competitive but globally successful,” said Motsepe.
“Africa spends millions of dollars every year paying for Tv rights of leagues outside Africa. There is a need to build our own products and we will succeed,” he said.
“The world will only respect us when our best players respected, and we’ve done that for many years. But what we need now is our national [& local] teams to compete, and succeed at the highest level. We can do that. And we will do that, ” said Motsepe.
Meanwhile Mathurin de Chacus (Bénin), Mamoutou Toure (Mali), Amaju Melvin Pinnick (Nigeria), Fouzi Lekjaa (Marocco), Hany Abo Rida (Egypt) and Woman’s representative Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone) have been elected to the FIFA council.
Whilst Kanizat IBRAHIM (Comores), Wadie Jary (Tunisia), Mustapha Ishola Raji (Liberia), Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (Niger), Seidou Mbombo Njoya (Cameroon) and Suleiman Waberi (Djibouti) make up the new CAF executive committee.
