International Football
CAF Election 2017: Tension All The Way
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Africa Hall in Addis Ababa is already used to high tension wired politics. It is the seat of African Union and it was there that the old OAU was founded and had held most of it meetings attended by African heads of states.
Another set of politicians are meeting there on Thursday morning. These are the African football politicians who are holding, perhaps, the most volatile election to constitute the executive of the 60-year old Confederation of African Football.
Palpable tension pervades the various hotels delegates to the CAF 39th Ordinary Assembly are staying as the clock ticks down to the 9am time of election of officers to direct the confederation’s affairs for the 2017 -2021 cycle. According to sources in the Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa abode of Issa Hayatou and most members of the CAF Executive Committee, there was apprehension as it is feared that Ahmad of Madagascar may have made inroad into the number of votes they expected.
“I must tell you, the Hayatou camp is jittery”, an Egyptian staff of CAF remarked in a message sent to Sports Village Square. According to information from the president’s camp, Hayatou was heard telling loyalists that he would not step down, no matter the odds.
Benin Republic’s Moucharafou Anjorin, one of the most trusted allies of Hayatou was seeing talking to Nigerian delegates, pleading they should back Hayatou and himself in the election and should not put powers in the hands of strangers.
Obinna Ogba, a senator and chairman of the senate committee on sports, is the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the CAF General Assembly. But it is Amaju Pinnick that has the voting power.
Other Nigerians at the assembly are Solomon Ogba, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria’s boss, NFF senior vice president, Seyi Akinwunmi, General Secretary Sanusi Mohammed and Hon. Nduka Irabor.
Ifeayi Ubah, the chairman of FC IfenyiUbah was being expected, even though there were fears he might not arrive before the election.
Kayode Tijani, Nigerian journalist in Addis Ababa, reported that the spirits of delegate in the Nigerian camp was high.
He dismissed as rumour, the stories going round that the sports minister has directed Amaju Pinnick to vote for Hayatou.
Most of the loyalists of Ahmad of Madagascar are staying in Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa. FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, who did not get the support of Issa Hayatou in the FIFA election last year, appears to be the rallying person for the anti-Hayatou forces.
Ahead of the election, Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick, according to Kayode Tijani who is on ground at Addis Ababa, is very confident.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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