Will the long reign of Issa Hayatou as the president of the Confederation of Africa Football ends today? Will Malagasy candidate, Ahmad, a former cabinet minister against all odds upset the apple cart and emerge the new head of CAF?
Delegates have been arriving Addis Ababa for days amid soaring expectation of a shock election result. Ahmad candidacy is backed by FIFA and front-lined by by flambouyant Harare businessman and COSAFA president, Philip Chiyangwa.
If Ahmad succeeds in the Herculean task, he will go down in history as the first man to fell the long serving Hayatou, at the helm of CAF since 1988.
It has been a testing time for Hayatou, who, for the first time in his reign, appears shaken after he clashed with Chiyangwa over a Harare gathering, which African football’s strongman mistook for a campaign rally for Ahmad. FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, a known Hayatou nemesis, attended the Harare function to celebrate Chiyangwa’s birthday and ascendancy to the COSAFA top post.
COSAFA has openly backed Ahmad, with the Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Maclean Letshwiti reiterating they will vote for the Malagasy, who remains relatively unknown, but might just be what football needs to breathe new life. Letshwiti flew out to Addis Ababa yesterday.
“Nothing has changed, he (Letshwiti) will go with the COSAFA resolution,” BFA public relations officer, Tumo Mpatane said yesterday.
The Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick is also a known supporter of Ahmad. He expressed his preference while speaking on CNN’s World Sport few weeks ago though, the government is pressuring him to back Hayatou.
To many lovers of the game of football, Hayatou has over stayed on his role as CAF president and the need for a fresh leader and direction caught across all regions of the continent. Ahmad or Hayatou? New or sticking with the old, CAF will decide today.
