International Football
MOROCCO’S MOUAD HAJJI BECOMES CAF’S 5TH GENERAL SECRETARY
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
With the dismissal of Amr Fahmy as the General Secretary of CAF last week, the confederation on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mouad Hajji, a Moroccan as the replacement.
Sports Village Square can confirm that Hajji, a Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Morocco, becomes the fifth person since 1961 to occupy the seat and also the second Moroccan to break the dynasty of Egypt’s Fahmy Family.
The other Moroccan to head the CAF Secretariat was Hicham El Amrani, who replaced Amr Fahmy’s father, Mustapha after the Egyptian moved to Zurich as the director of competitions at FIFA.
El Amrani resigned his position after long-standing CAF president, Issa Hayatou of Cameroon was ousted by Ahmad.
According to a media statement by CAF, its Executive Committee decided on the restructuring of the CAF Administration at its last meeting. Among the steps taken was the dismissal of Amr Fahmy as General Secretary.
Even though no reason was given, a publication in Europe, insideworldfootball.com alleged that the dismissed scribe was punished on allegation of complicity in corruption allegation against the CAF president.
The Deputy General Secretary in charge of Administration and Finance, Essadik Alaoui, who hierarchically should have taken over from Fahmy was reported to have departed on amicable understanding with the confederation.
For that reason, the decision to appoint Mouad Hajji was with immediate effect. The CAF meetings of last week Thursday and Friday chaired by CAF President Ahmad Ahmad also saw Mouad Hajji assume his position as CAF General Secretary.
According to CAF, Hajji is known in the football world. He previously served in various capacities at the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) including Administrative Manager of the national teams and General Coordinator in charge of International Relations from 2014 to 2018. He also held the position of Deputy Director of the Local Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup hosted in Morocco in 2014.
As Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Youth and Sports in his native Morocco, he was the brain behind several projects notably the “Sports Studies” program in six different disciplines between 2009 and 2011.
PAST GENERAL SECRATARIES OF CAF
- Mourad Fahmy, Egypt (1961 – 1982)
- Mostapha Fahmy, Egypt (1962 -2010)
- Hicham El Amrani, Morocco (2010 -2017)
- Amr Fahmy, Egypt (2017 -2019)
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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