BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Expectedly, Fouzi Lekjaa was re-elected this Wednesday as the African representative on the FIFA Council.

He had 49 votes to beat his closest rival, thus underlining his popularity and that of Morocco in African football. He had 14 votes more than Hani Abou Rida of Egypt who came second in an election contested by nine, of which five were elected.

With his victory, Lekjaa will continue his membership of FIFA Council up till 2029, the eve of the World Cup that Morocco is co-hosting with Portugal and Spain.

The president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) became a FIFA Council member in 2021. His re-election is a testimony of his hard work and good relationship with other football administrators.

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick will this Wednesday be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the late Nigerian football administration icon Oyo Orok Oyo by winning a second term in the executive committee of the football governing body, now commonly known as FIFA Council.

Oyo became a member of the then FIFA Executive Committee at the General Assembly held at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and went on to win a second term in Abidjan in 1984 before being voted out in Morocco in 1988 when Gambia’s Omar Sey took his position.

Pinnick will be hoping also to secure a second term this Wednesday in Cairo at the 14^th Extraordinary General Assembly.  He won the FIFA seat in Morocco four years ago to become the third Nigerian in the FIFA Council after that of Oyo Orok Oyo (1980 to 1988), Amos Adamu (2006 to 2013).

Pinnick has a loaded field to contest against. There are six positions for election as the seventh seat for Africa is automatically taken by the CAF president.

The field is further narrowed as one of the electable six seats is reserved for a woman.

CAF’s sitting 5^th vice president Kanizat Ibrahim from the Comoros Islands will slug it out with sitting member Isha Johansen from Sierra Leone.

The others contesting for the five other seats are: Ivorian Yacine Idriss Diallo, Senegal’s Augustin Senghor, Niger Republic’s Djibrilla ‘Pele’ Hima Hamidou, Zambia’s Andrew Kamanga, Mauritanian Ahmed Yahya, Benin Republic’s Mathurin De Chacus and Djibouti’s Souleman Hassan Waberi also in the poll.

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

On the sidelines of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football, CAF in Cairo, the body and the Association of African Clubs (ACA) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Patrice Motsepe, President of CAF and Hersi Said, the President of ACA signed the historic MoU.

Several strategic objectives were put in place. “These objectives include the protection and development of a strong and competitive professional sector, as well as long-term investment in the training of young talents.

The two institutions are also committed to ensuring that players have an appropriate educational path throughout their sporting career, to promoting ethics and integrity of the game, and to fighting against racism, doping, violence, match manipulation and corruption in football,” CAF explained in its press release.

CAF and ACA will work hand in hand to ensure that club and national team football generates substantial benefits for players, clubs, leagues and member associations.

The bodies have also strengthened their collaboration in governance and the resolution of sports disputes through appropriate mediation structures.

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H