…As Businessman elected unopposed at general assembly
South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe has been named as the new President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after standing unopposed in Friday General Assembly in Moroccan capital Rabat.
Motsepe, a billionaire businessman, was elected to replace Ahmad who has been banned from all football-related activities for two years for financial misconduct so was unable to stand.
As the only candidate for the role, there was no need for a vote after Motsepe’s three challengers pledged to support his bid to become President.
The 59-year-old, who has an estimated fortune of $2.1 billion (£1.54 billion/€1.71 billion), has now been tasked with transforming the embattled organisation.
Speaking following his election victory, Motsepe called on National Federations to adopt a united approach to improve African football.
“Africa needs collective wisdom, but also the exceptional talent and wisdom of every [National Federation] President and every member nation,” said Motsepe.
“When we all work together, football in Africa will experience success and growth that it has not enjoyed in the past.”
The meeting also laid bare CAF’s financial plight, with figures showing the organisation suffered a loss of more than $11million (£7.9 million/€9.2 million) from 2019 to 2020.
“The new team needs to double or treble the revenue of CAF,” said Fouzi Lekjaa, head of CAF’s Finance Committee.
“I don’t want to be alarmist but the figures…can’t be interpreted any other way.”
Motsepe, the first black African on the Forbes rich list, is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals and is non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, one of the world’s largest gold mining companies.
He is also the brother-in-law of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and owner of Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.
Ivorian Jacques Anouma, Senegal’s Augustin Senghor and Mauritanian Ahmed Yahya were previously in the running to become CAF President.
But the trio agreed to withdraw from the election process in favour of other leadership roles with Senghor and Yahya named first and second vice-president respectively and Anouma becoming a special advisor to Motsepe.
The agreement was secured following FIFA President Gianni Infantino conducting an African tour, where he met with the four candidates.
Infantino has vehemently denied influencing the election.
Speaking after Motsepe’s appointment as CAF President, Infantino stressed the importance of “team spirit” to help African football prosper.
“We know the values of football, but the most important value is team spirit,” said Infantino.
