Motsepe re-elected unopposed as CAF president
Patrice Motsepe has been re-elected unopposed as Confederation of African Football (CAF) president for a second term in office.
The 63-year-old South African, who has been CAF president since 2021, had announced his decision to stand again in October 2024.
His re-election for another four-year reign was confirmed at the CAF extraordinary general assembly in Cairo on Wednesday where FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, was in attendance.
Motsepe, a mining magnate who also owns South African club, Mamelodi Sundowns, had said he was looking to continue the “good progress” he had made since coming to office four years ago.
Although Motsepe’s re-election was a formality, elections were held for positions on CAF’s executive committee with Cameroonian football legend Samuel Eto’o winning a seat.
The continent’s representatives on the FIFA council were also voted in during Wednesday’s executive general assembly.
Motsepe’s second term in charge of African football was decided before Wednesday’s events in Cairo after he became the first and only contender to run for office.
The lack of challengers could be seen as a vote of confidence in the South African’s presidency so far, having come to CAF at a time of crisis.
In 2021 he succeeded Ahmad of Madagascar, who had become the first CAF president to be banned by FIFA.
Since then, the African football body has grown financially, making a $72m (£55.5m) profit from last year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) a sum 18 times bigger than that generated by the previous edition in 2022.
During his speech on Wednesday, he highlighted the issue of national stadiums across Africa as one of his key areas of focus.
“In 2021, there were 36 countries that were not playing football in their countries. The number has come down to 12 but for us, this is still a big number,” he said.
“At CAF and FIFA, it is our job to continue supporting the development of sports infrastructure.”
There was also a vote to decide the six African representatives on the FIFA Council with Hany Abo Rida of Egypt and Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco retaining their places.
Kanizat Ibrahim (Comoros), Hamidou Djibrilla Hima (Niger), Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania) and Souleymane Waberi (Djibouti) were elected for the first time.
On CAF’s executive committee, five others were elected unopposed alongside Samuel Eto’o.
Mustapha Ishola Raji of Liberia retained his seat for another four years, while Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo), Wallace Karia (Tanzania), Kurt Simeon-Okraku (Ghana) and Sadi Walid (Algeria) are new to the committee.
Elvis Chetty of the Seychelles lost his place when Feizal Sidat (Mozambique) and Samir Sobha of Mauritius were voted in to represent southern Africa. -BBC
