Governing Bodies
AHMAD’S ENDORSEMENT MAY AMOUNT TO DECEIT, SAYS EX- FA CHIEFTAIN
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
One of the key players in CAF politics in West Africa has informed Sports Village Square that the endorsement of Ahmad to run again for the position of CAF president may be a gross deceit.
Forty six FA presidents across the six regional zones of CAF have issued a statement to support the candidature of Ahmad to run again in the election slated for Morocco in March.
But the source informed that Ahmad may not be swayed by the statement as he would probably take it as gross deceit.
The 60-year old Madagascan who ruled his national FA for 17 years prior to being elected as CAF president three years ago was reportedly to have once remarked that he can never trust African delegates when it comes to election.
He himself had been a beneficiary of deceit. The 46 endorsement out of obtainable 54 ordinarily put him at a vantage position to retain his seat.
But prior to his emergence in 2017, Issa Hayatou had garnered endorsement from 50 delegates out of 54 who were expected to vote at the election held in Addis Ababa.
But at the election, Hayatou got just 20 votes while the remaining 34 went to Ahmad. In essence, 30 of those who endorsed him prior to the election deceived him!
The source in West Africa further informed that Ahmad had once stated that he understood African politics very well as most who were in Hayatou’s camp were actually moles planted.
Ahmad, who was briefly arrested by the French anti-corruption police last year June, is currently under investigation by FIFA. In addition, he has been accused of taken some African FA chiefs to Saudi Arabia which is also being viewed as unethical.
Mohamed El Sherei, a sacked CAF Finance director blew the lid off a deal that saw Ahmad funding flights and expenses of several CAF board members, FA presidents across Africa going on the Umrah (lesser Hajj Pilgrimage) in May 2018.
CAF election has always being a reflection of electoral processes across Africa where incumbent always come up with self-serving regulations. Such was the case in the 2013 election that saw Hayatou’s only challenger, Jacques Anouma of Cote d’Ivoire disqualified paving the way for the Cameroonian to win unchallenged.
Six months earlier, CAF held a meeting in the Seychelles where they overwhelmingly approved an amendment of their statutes to declare that only voting members of the executive committee could run for president.
Anouma is on the committee, because he is one of the continent’s FIFA representatives, but does not have voting powers.
The timing of the change in decree led many to believe that Hayatou deliberately forced it through when he learnt of Anouma’s plans to run for president.
In the days leading to the 2017 election that produced a new president in 29 years, DR Congo’s Omari Constant Selemani was a suspected mole in the Hayatou’s camp and was one of the 50 that endorsed the Cameroonian ahead of the election where the old man merely managed to get 20 votes.
According to our source, such machinery is most likely to be at work again following the current 46-man endorsement that Ahmad has received.
He is of the opinion that the ‘revolutionaries’ that ensured the overthrown of the ancient regime has since disintegrated.
He pointed at Nigeria’s FA chief, Amaju Pinnick as the arrowhead of the revolution. ‘But as you must have known, he is no longer with them in spirit’.
Ahmad’s emergence as president in 2017 owed a lot to a broad continent-wide coalition spearheaded by Pinnick which ended the hegemonic decades-long rule of Hayatou.
He further accused Ahmad as exploiting linguistic divide by sidelining Anglophone countries while prompting up the numerically stronger Francophone countries.
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
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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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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