President of the Confederation Of Africa Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou has been butted out of office and replaced with the Madagascan football administrator, Ahmad Ahmad in a keenly contested election held on Thursday at Addis Ababa.
After a vote at the governing body’s Congress in Addis Ababa, the Madagascan was named as the new Caf President after defeating the incumbent Issa Hayatou.
In the election, which was held at Caf’s 39th General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ahmad defeated Hayatou in a shock result after picking up 34 votes to the 70-year-old’s 20.
Hayatou had been in power since 1988 when he replaced Abdel Halim Mohammad, and has overseen significant growth in the continental game and in Caf’s standing within the global football community.
The Cameroonian who as a result of this defeat will lose his position on the ruling council of world football’s governing body, was led from the auditorium by aides who ignored requests for comment from media.
In contrast, Ahmad was carried on the shoulders of supporters to the podium after the result was announced. He becomes the body’s seventh president after Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem (1957-1958), Abdel Aziz Moustafa (1958-1968), Abdel Halim Muhammad (1968-1972), Yidnekatchew Tessema (1972-1987), Abdel Halim Muhammad (1987-1988) and Issa Hayatou (1988-2017).
Meanwhile, not only did the long term president, Issa Hayatou lose his position, most of his trusted lieutenants also fell. One of the casualties was Benin Republic’s Moucharafou Anjorin who lost his seat to Amaju Melvin Pinnick, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Pinnick, on Thursday afternoon became the third Nigerian to get into the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football, after polling 32 to oust Anjorin who had 17.
The election into the executive committee was slower than the earlier presidential owing to the number of candidates. The Nigerian delegate voted after that of Mauritius.
With Agency Report
