South African Patrice Motsepe elected new CAF president unopposed

Motsepe pleads for unity as he seeks to fix the troubled organisation

* Former president Ahmad was barred from contesting as he is serving a ban for breaching FIFA Ethics Code

* After appealing to Court of Arbitration for Sport, he was still found guilty of the FIFA charges

* His five-year has been reduced to two and CAS has also reduced his $220,000 fine to $54,000

Maravi Express

South African Patrice Motsepe was ushered in as new Confederation of African Football (CAF) president in Rabat Friday, replacing Ahmad Ahmad — who had been embroiled in controversial that led to him been banned by world football governing body, FIFA.

FIFA had found Ahmad guilty of breaching three articles of the FIFA Ethics Code and was consequently banned from all football-related activities at national and international level for five years.

He was also fined $220,000 but he challenged and sought an annulment of the FIFA ban through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in order for him to be cleared and contest for another term as CAF president.

But last week CAS still found Ahmad guilty of breaching the FIFA Ethics Code but was cleared of any wrongdoing concerning Tactical Steel contracts — thereby reducing his ban on all football-related activities at national and international level from five years to two.

The $220,000 was also reduced it to $54,000 making the Malagasy ineligible to stand in the CAF presidential election and giving Motsepe to become the sole candidate also after his rivals Jacques Anouma, Augustin Senghor and Ahmed Yahya all agreed to withdraw and support his candidacy.

A report by the AFP says Motsepe was locked in an intriguing struggle for the presidency against Ivorian Anouma, Mauritanian Yahya and Senegalese Senghor.

But it is reported that FIFA-brokered meetings of the contenders in Morocco and Mauritania that led to the mining magnate Motsepe becoming the sole candidate.

Senghor and Yahya were given the first and second vice-president roles while Anouma — a former FIFA executive committee member who initially declared the pact “undemocratic” — becomes a special advisor to Motsepe.

As some CAF officials railed against alleged interference by the world body, FIFA president Gianni Infantino played down the role of his organisation.

“I am delighted that FIFA has been able to contribute, even if just a little, to this crucial moment for football on this great continent,” he is quoted as saying.

It is not the first time FIFA has been accused of interfering in CAF with many officials believing Infantino privately backed Ahmad four years ago, says the AFP report.

The Malagasy Ahmad ended the 29-year reign of Cameroonian Issa Hayatou in a shock outcome to the 2017 presidential election but after a promising start, Ahmad stumbled from one crisis to another, which eventually led to him exiting the presidency in disgrace.

Meanwhile, Motsepe pleaded for unity as he seeks to fix the troubled organisation. He is quoted as saying: “Africa needs collective wisdom, but also the exceptional talent and wisdom of every (national football association) president and every member nation”.

“When we all work together, football in Africa will experience success and growth that it has not enjoyed in the past.”

The report says Africa has suffered serious setbacks in recent years with all five qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia eliminated after the first round — the worst showing in 36 years.

Motsepe, who owns 2016 CAF Champions League winners Mamelodi Sundowns, is the ninth richest man in Africa with a personal wealth estimated at $2.9 billion by Forbes magazine.

CAF are banking on Motsepe using his business connections across Africa to woo new sponsors. France-based oil and gas giant Total are the main financial backers, but details of the eight-year deal that began in 2016 have never been disclosed.