BEVERLY HILLS, January 08, (THEWILL) – The Governance Committee (GC) of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) met in Cairo on January 5 and 6, 2020 to carry out prerequisite eligibility checks on the candidatures of contestants vying for positions of CAF President and members of CAF Executive Committee.
President of the GC, Michel Kizito Brizoua-Bi, convened the meeting.
Officially, there were five candidatures standing for the position of CAF Presidency while 16 candidatures were registered for positions of Members of CAF Executive Committee.
After due diligence were carried out following standard procedures, the GC ruled that:
Of the five desiring to become CAF President, two were approved to have their names appear on the list of candidates for Presidency, as there were no issues discovered to obstruct their eligibility. One candidate was considered ineligible while the GC required additional work to be done on the remaining two before they are cleared for ballots or declared otherwise.
The candidates authorised to appear on the list of candidates for the Presidency were:
Augustin Emmanuel Senghor: He is a 55-year-old Senegalese and lawyer by profession. He has been President of the Senegalese Football Federation since August 2009 and a member of the CAF Executive Committee since February 2018.
Mr. Jacques Bernard Daniel Anouma is 69-year-old and hails from Côte d’Ivoire. A Financial Executive, he is a former member of the FIFA Executive Committee, former President of the Ivorian Football Federation and Honorary President of the Ivorian Football Federation.
The GC declared the candidature of outgoing CAF President, the 61-year-old Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad, ineligible. This comes as no surprise with Ahmad suspended from his position and fined on the basis of reports of investigations carried out by world football governing body FIFA, which uncovered widespread corruption and abuse of office under his administration as President of the Confederation.
The candidates for the Presidency that require additional checks include:
Ahmed Yahya: The 44-year-old Mauritanian businessman is currently President of the Mauritanian Football Federation and Member of the Executive Committee.
Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe: A 58-year-old South African businessman and President of the South African Premier Soccer League club Mamelodi Sundowns FC.
Although the candidatures of these last two were deemed admissible, the committee considered that further checks were necessary before a final decision was reached. That final decision will be made after a hearing of these candidates in Cairo on Thursday, January 28.
The GC also authorised the participation of the following candidates in the election of members of the Executive Committee without hindrance:
Wadie Jary (Tunisia); Mustapha Ishola Raji (Liberia); Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (Niger); Edwin Simeon- Okraku (Ghana); Adoum Djibrine (Chad); Suleiman Waberi (Djibouti); Isayas Jira (Ethiopia); Feizal Ismael Sidat (Mozambique); Elvis Raja Chetty (Seychelles); Maclean Cortez Letshwithi (Botswana); Kanizat Ibrahim (Comoros)
Patricia Rajeriarison (Madagascar); Lawson Hogban-Latré-Kayti Edzona (Togo)
However, the GC did not clear the following as their
nominations to the Executive Committee required additional verifications:
Mamadou Antonio Souaré (Guinea); Seidou Mbombo Njoya (Cameroun); Arthur De Almeida E. Silva (Angola)
Similarly, a hearing of this trio of candidates will be organised in Cairo on the same date as the hearing for the position of CAF President.
The process of electing new members will culminate at the 43rd Elective Ordinary General Assembly, billed for Friday, March 12, in Rabat, Morocco where CAF will elect a new President for a four-year term to succeed the suspended Ahmad.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
