South African billionaire businessman and football administrator, Dr Patrice Motsepe, has been re-elected unopposed as President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a second four-year term.
The decision was confirmed at the 14th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday, extending his leadership of the continental football body 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 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Cote d’Ivoire 2023, attracting a record 1.4 billion viewers worldwide.
Meanwhile, Cameroon football legend, Samuel Eto’o, won a seat on the CAF executive committee, as six African football administrators were voted in as members of the FIFA Council.
While Egypt’s Hany Abo Rida and Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa retained their seats on the FIFA Council, Souleiman Waberi, Ahmed Yahya, Djibrilla Hamidou and Ibrahim Kanizat were elected as the new African representatives during polls that took place as part of the 14th Extraordinary General Assembly.
Nigeria’s candidate, Amaju Pinnick, narrowly missed out on retaining his FIFA Council seat, losing by a single vote at the poll. The former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) scored 28 votes, one short of both Yahya of Mauritania and Waberi of Djibouti, who each scored 29 votes to make it to the panel.
