Governing Bodies
Cairo is a jinx city for Amaju Pinnick
BY MITCHELL OBI
When it comes to seeking a place in CAF and FIFA, Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick should avoid anything to do with Cairo, the Egyptian capital and home of the Nile.
Indeed, this Cairo he should strive to see no more.
I recall vividly how he looked like L’Etranger and how only a fingerful of us tried to console and comfort him after losing the first vice Presidency of CAF in the dispensation of the Island boy Ahmad.
It was a low moment for the one who could easily have become CAF President when the then incumbent Ahmad was briefly arrested in Paris.
It was difficult that day at the Marriott Hotel to have a drink as we were all touched by the way our colleague Osasu weaved the story of Amaju’s lonesome displacement by Ahmad.
Today, in the same Cairo, just by one vote, he lost the opportunity to have a repeat representation in the FIFA Council of Africa’s most populous and passionate nation. Winning and losing are marks for sportsmen, but when victory in an election is lost by a vote it compares to the pain of missing a sudden death shootout.
Only time would tell whether Cairo would one day provide a healing balm for the former czar of Nigerian football.
Sadly, the anglophone voice will be missing in the FIFA Council and it is left to imagine what his staunch friends, Gianni Infantino and Patrice Motsepe would be whispering to him.
Some time to play the game, you must only be useful as they think you are useful. Just like he worked extremely hard and wide to get Ahmad elected and then got betrayed, so also today we are counting on a president whom he virtually nominated, sold and canvassed to us all for his acclamation.
Motsepe does not like to stay in Cairo, but he must find a befitting role for a friend indeed and in need.
Can we see a co-opted member of the CAF Exco from Nigeria…Don’t need to go to the pyramids to give good comfort to a true Gunner for life!
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Nigeria’s candidate, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, very narrowly failed to retain his FIFA Council seat, losing by a single vote at the poll that took place as part of the 14th CAF Extraordinary Congress in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday.
The former NFF President scored 28 votes, only one short of both Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania and Souleman Hassan Waberi of Djibouti, who each scored 29 votes to make it to the exalted panel.
Expectedly, Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa swept 49 votes, with Egypt’s Hany Abou Rida and Niger Republic’s Djibrilla Hima Hamidou netting 35 votes each.
Lekjaa, Rida, Hamidou, Yahya and Waberi will join CAF President Patrice Motsepe, unopposed for a second term, as Africa’s representatives at the FIFA Council, alongside Kanizat Ibrahim from the Comoros Island who collected the women’s seat by scoring 30 votes, as against 13 for former FIFA Council and IOC Member Lydia Nsekera and seven for incumbent Isha Johansen.
Andrew Kamanga (Zambia), Yacine Idriss Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire) and Augustin Senghor (Senegal) polled 19, 18 and 13 votes respectively, while Benin Republic’s Mathurin De Chacus withdrew just before the vote.
In the CAF Executive Committee elections, Alfred Randriamanampisoa (Madagascar) withdrew before the vote, leaving Elvis Chetty (Seychelles), Sobha Mohamed Ally Samir (Mauritius) and Feizal Ismael Sidat (Mozambique) to contest for two COSAFA seats. In the event, Sobha Samir and Feizal Sidat were successful.
Unopposed, as the CAF President, were Wallace Karia (CECAFA, Tanzania), Samuel Eto’o (UNIFFAC, Cameroon), Mustapha Ishola Raji (WAFU A, Liberia), Kurt Edwin-Simeon Okraku (WAFU B, Ghana), Sadhi Walid (UNAF) and Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Female Seat, DR Congo).
FIFA Council Seats: Patrice Motsepe (South Africa); Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco); Hany Abou Rida (Egypt); Djibrilla ‘Pele’ Hima Hamidou (Niger Republic); Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania), Souleman Hassan Waberi (Djibouti).
Female Seat: Kanizat Ibrahim (Comoros)
CAF Exco Seats: Samuel Eto’o (UNIFFAC); Wallace Karia (CECAFA); Sadhi Walid (UNAF); Mustapha Ishola Raji (WAFU A); Kurt Edwin-Simeon Okraku (WAFU B); Sobha Mohamed Ally Samir and Feizal Ismael Sidat (COSAFA)
Female Seat: Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (DR Congo)
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BY MITCHELL OBI
Now we know clearly and unquestionably who holds the treasured keys to the corridor and palace of CAF power.
Fouzi Lekjaa is more than a politician and beyond the resources and royalty padding him and his office, he should have a reputational religion that helps him win many souls in the African soccer kingdom.
His stupendous vote return in the election must provide material for students of African football politics.
And the thrust will be not on those who supported his candidacy for the FIFA Council but on the five gracious votes that denied him a total clean sweep.
His 49 votes were indeed a staggering return and anyone who aspires to be involved in the politics of the game today should have the blessing of Lekjaa…
Not loud, not ambitious, almost self-effacing with a dutiful bent, this Moroccan football lord has stirred up a new brand of bridge building that is simply engaging and perhaps enduring.
He goes into the FIFA Council with a voice that must be listened to at all times till 2030.
And if anyone may ask is this truly positive, does this commanding influence add value to the game in the continent and above all, is it not better to win votes in an election than this syndrome of contrapted acclamation which denies democratic choices.
For now, it is fair to say that the CAF elections today have provided us with a new visage of football leadership…diligence will always breed prominence.
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Dr Patrice Motsepe has been re-elected unopposed as President of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) for a second four-year term.
The decision was confirmed at the 14th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly in Cairo on Wednesday, extending his leadership of the organisation until 2029.
Motsepe’s re-election comes after a first term widely praised for stabilizing CAF’s finances and boosting its global profile.
Under his leadership, the organization set several new records at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Cote d’Ivoire 2023, attracting a record 1.4 billion viewers worldwide.
Prizemoney for major tournaments, including the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, has also increased significantly, alongside enhanced financial support for Member Associations.
The 63-year-old faced no opposition after the nomination deadline passed in November 2024.
His decision to run again followed requests from Member Association Presidents and key stakeholders.
“The goal remains making African football globally competitive, stabilizing finances, and investing in infrastructure,” he said.
Dr Motsepe’s unopposed re-election reflects both confidence in his leadership and the desire to see him elevate African football to new heights.
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