International Football
Ahmad Ahmad: The Day After
A pair of blue jean trousers upon a grey top, he looked every inch an island boy waiting to see how the ocean tides will subside. Self effacing and exuding trademark simplicity at the lounge of Sheraton Hotel Addis Ababa Friday morning it was easy to miss the latest sheriff in the house of African football.
This was a day after the hurricane from the island of Madagascar virtually swept away the old order of leadership and ushered in a fresh feel of youth and perhaps adventure in the house of Africa’s most cherished game
“What has pleased me the most is the victory of democracy through football in Africa”, confessed Ahmad Ahmad, an accomplished politician and former cabinet minister in Madagascar.
All those who stormed the City of Flowers, Addis Ababa, for the 60th anniversary celebration and 39th General Assembly of the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) may have left for home with pieces of varied memories of a day that changed the outlook of the administration of the game in the continent.
But did they anticipate or envisage the magnitude of the storm that would rock the continental body with headquarters in Cairo Egypt?
Definitely the ever last lion from Cameroon and one time President of FIFA on acting capacity, Issa Hayatou, had no fear of the raging roar of change.
For 29 years he had held sway as CAF president like a charmed knight in a tournament, riding through little hurdles and providing a shield for a band of passionate adherents in the power corridor.
The days before the election provided opportunities to further pad his victory calculations and drag in to his fold those still undecided. He was in good company during the landmark launch of Ethiopia’s pacesetting St George’s FC Academy, named after his predecessor Yidnekatchew Tessema as well as the screening of a film capturing the best of African football in the last 60 years of CAF.
There was also the CAF forum which had many distinguished sports personalities including the FIFA president Gianni Infantino. But many delegates who perceived the event as a design to distract them from their electoral mission opted to stay away.
The subjects tackled were meant for the education and enlightenment of the delegates but they were not impressed. It was a signal of the gathering storm.
Not even the brilliant sunshine Thursday could open up the thoughts of those who had been at work in the last three months, crisscrossing the continent to extract commitments and pledges to confront a colossus in African football leadership.
From birthday party to meetings and personal visits across many cities within and outside the continent the Ahmed coalition had found a united front and fully charged by the padding from the FIFA boss who told all that he believed in Africa which represents a phenomenal future of the game if well managed.
Truly, so March 16 provided a fresh vista of the game’s management and direction. For sure the women also had a heavy dose of politicking and one of them, Isha Johansen of Sierra Leone, won a seat in the CAF executive committee by beating another tested hand Lydia Nsekera of Burundi.
The embrace from the two ladies after the result announcement inside the magnificent AU Plenary Hall captured the imagination of many who witnessed the march into a new dispensation.
Fair play and transparency reigned throughout the conduct of the election and any tinge of bitterness or disappointment will be kept in little corners of their hearts.
The outgoing president no doubt gave a solid fight and in the days ahead he says he will be ready to share his experiences and give support in the transition period.
Friday morning he looked radiant in his royal purple outfit and betrayed no sign of an embattled leader. He had moment to rub minds with his key lieutenants most of whom suffered defeats and now had to accept the reality of sports which has winners and losers.
More telling will be how the Ahmad leadership approaches his inclusive governance agenda and fashions his team to imbibe the change mantra with an eye on the reforms flowing from Zurich.
“I want to have a house of football that belongs to you”. Ahmad had pledged before the elections that gave him 34 votes as against Hayatou’s 20.
From his campaign style one can deduce the strength of a leader who is methodic and strategic in weaving a consensus that he adopts with a missionary zeal.
He appears to adjust to moments as they affect his objective. His combative speech before the election and his populist delivery showed a character ready to carry the task and burden of change.
Indeed he will have to match the great expectations of the soccer mad populace with the reality of a pragmatic revenue seeking programme that may not hurt the existing contractual deals on television rights, sponsorship and marketing for which a simmering fight for control may be too hot to handle or ignore.
The world is watching and it is clear that his victory was a relief to those who overtime continue to remind Africa that the future of the game belongs to you.
Just go out there and seize it. Easy words to say but it is hard not to take to heart the message of Hayatou who reminds all with emphasis that Africa must fashion its own destiny and vision. The tide of election is over. It is time for the Island boy Ahmad to make us glad with a World Cup chase for the continent.
FROM MITCHELL OBI, AIPS AFRICA PRESIDENT, Addis Ababa.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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