BY KUNLE SOLAJA

When Amr Fahmy, 34, takes over the day-to-day running of the headquarters of Confederation of African Football, CAF this month, it means one family has taken almost an absolute control of administration of football in Africa for over 50 years.

Amr is the son of former CAF General Secretary, Mustapha Fahmy who occupied the position from 1982 to 2010. He moved up to take another position in FIFA as Director of Competitions.

Mustapha succeeded his father, Mourad Fahmy, who was the grandfather of Amr thus creating a dynasty controlling the head quarters of CAF since 1961, except for the period of 2010 till now.

Mourad Fahmy, General Secretary of CAF (1961 to 1982)

 

Mourad Fahmy ruled from 1961 to 1982. Amr, the new General Secretary was not even born as at the time Mourad relinquished powers in April 1982 and handed over to his son, Mustapha.

    Mustapha Fahmy, son of Mourad Fahmy, General Secretary of CAF, 1982 to 2010. Later     Director of Competitions, FIFA.

The new General Secretary, Amr was not also born in 1982 when his father took over the administration of CAF. His father was the administrative head of CAF till he moved to the competition department of FIFA in 2010.

Mustapha and Mourad Fahmy: Father and son in the service of CAF. Preparing the ground for the Fahmy dynasty?

According to a press statement by CAF, Amr was proposed by CAF President Ahmad to the Executive Committee in accordance with the statutory provisions, and the Executive Committee approved his appointment during its meeting held on Thursday in Rabat, Morocco.

Amr Fahmy, new CAF General Secretary, maintaining a family tradition.

   CAF described Amr Fahmy as a passionate football lover who took part in the FIFA Master program in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, where he undertook courses on the campuses of the Universities of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, Bocconi in Italy and De Montfort in the United Kingdom.
Until his new appointment, Amr served with France-based Lagardère Sports as Director of Operations for Africa. Like his father, Mustapha, did, Amr also worked under Mustapha, his father, serving in the CAF Competitions Division between 2007 and 2015.

Prior to his departure in August 2015, he was the Tournament Director for the flagship competition, Africa Cup of Nations.
Two Deputy General Secretaries have also been appointed under the same conditions in conformity with the statutes.
Deputy General Secretary in charge of Development and Competitions is Ghanaian Anthony Baffoe. Born in Germany, the 52-year old was capped 25 times by Ghana between 1991 and 1994, and also captained the Black Stars for the final match of the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal against Cote d’Ivoire, which the latter won 11-10 on penalties.
After a playing that started from Germany, through France to Hong Kong (Asia) and terminating in Venezuela (South America), he ventured into event management and also launching a cause for the protection of the right of footballers in his native Ghana. Holder of a CAF License ‘A’ Coaching Certificate, he has attended various FIFA training programs in Administration, and doubles as a FIFA Instructor in Administration and Management.
Essadik Alaoui has also been appointed Deputy General Secretary in charge of Administration and Finance. The 50-year-old Moroccan is a polyglot like Fahmy and Baffoe. He initially studied English Literature, before moving towards a curriculum in sport.
A graduate of the Moulay Rachid National Sports Institute in Morocco, he also studied Sports Management at the University of Indiana in the United States of America. A good part of his professional career has been with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. In 2014, he was the director of the FIFA Club World Cup tournament staged in Morocco.