By Kunle Solaja

Nigeria has recorded another major milestone in continental football administration with the appointment of Samson Adamu as Acting General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football.

Sports Village Square reports that Adamu, whose father, Dr Amos Adamu, was also a seasoned football administrator, has become the eighth person to hold the seat at the confederation, which clocked 69 on February 8 last year.

Top sources within CAF confirmed on Sunday that Adamu’s appointment takes immediate effect following the exit of Véron Mosengo-Omba, who stepped down from the position after mounting pressure and internal transition discussions.

Mosengo-Omba, a Congolese lawyer, had been appointed in March 2021, succeeding Abdelmounaim Bah, and brought with him experience from FIFA, where he served as Chief Member Associations Officer.

Adamu’s elevation is widely seen as a recognition of his growing influence and performance within CAF since joining the organisation in 2018 as Director of Competitions.

 In that role, he replaced Mosengo-Omba and quickly established himself as a key figure in the organisation of major continental tournaments.

For Nigeria, his appointment represents a significant boost in representation at the highest administrative level of African football, reinforcing the country’s longstanding contribution to the development of the game on the continent.

Before his move to CAF, Adamu had built a strong reputation as an innovator in sports management, notably as the initiator and Chief Executive Officer of the internationally acclaimed Copa Lagos Futsal tournament, which attracted global attention and participation.

Since arriving at CAF, he has earned commendation for his efficiency and visibility, playing central roles in competition management and strategic coordination. His consistent performance reportedly made him a natural choice when discussions began over a replacement for Mosengo-Omba.

Although his current role is in an acting capacity, observers believe Adamu’s appointment could pave the way for a substantive position, depending on ongoing administrative decisions within CAF.

His emergence underscores Nigeria’s continued relevance not only on the pitch but also in the corridors of power in African football governance.

Past and Recent General Secretaries of CAF (in reverse chronological order):

• Samson Adamu (Nigeria): Appointed Acting General Secretary on March 29, 2026.
• Véron Mosengo-Omba (DR Congo/Switzerland): Served from March 2021 to March 2026.
• Abdelmounaim Bah (Morocco): Served as Acting General Secretary from March 2020 to March 2021.
• Mouad Hajji (Morocco): Served April 2019 to March 2020.
• Amr Fahmy (Egypt): Served from 2017 to 2019.
• Hicham El Amrani (Morocco): Served from 2010 to 2017.
• Mustapha Fahmy (Egypt): Served for nearly 30 years (starting in 1961).
• Youssef Mohamad (Sudan): Served as the first General Secretary upon CAF’s foundation in 1957.

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FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior ​Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on ‌Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.

Mayolas, his ​wife and his son ​were sentenced to life in prison ⁠earlier this month after ​a criminal court in the Congolese capital​, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said ​their whereabouts were not known ​, and they were tried in absentia.

FECOFOOT general ‌secretary ⁠Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. ​Badji ​and Kanda ⁠were sentenced to five years each in prison ​by the court in ​Brazzaville ⁠for related charges.

“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and ⁠documents ​during an audit,” ​FIFA said in a statement.

-Reuters

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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.

The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.

The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.

The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.

The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.

“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.

“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”

In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”

Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”

-AP

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