Times Of Swaziland: DAWN OF NEW ERA IN AFRICAN FOOTBALL

DAWN OF NEW ERA IN AFRICAN FOOTBALL
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The Editor on 21/03/2017 07:08:00


Sir,
Little known Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar has defied all odds by beating
long-serving Issa Hayatou in the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
presidential elections held in Ethiopia on Thursday afternoon.
After serving as CAF president for the past 29 years, Hayatou, who was seeking
an eighth consecutive term, was stunned to be defeated by a former Cabinet
minister from a struggling football nation who narrowly obtained 34 votes
against the Cameroonian’s 20 votes to bring to an end the reign of the
one-time acting FIFA boss.
When taking into account the position of Madagascar in both FIFA and CAF
rankings one would have thought that Ahmad stood no chance against Hayatou. What
with the fact that the Islanders are even struggling to compete effectively in
the regional COSAFA Cup not to mention the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers where
they are booted out in the preliminary stages.
These are but some of the factors that were brought to the fore the moment Ahmad
confirmed his candidature for the presidential elections but lo and behold
African football will see a new president since 1988.
After failed attempts from the likes of Ishmael Barmjee to unseat Hayatou in
previous presidential elections, no one would have predicted Ahmad’s victory
going to the elections on Thursday but as fate finally had it, there is a new
man at the helm of African football.
Much against the notion that CAF belongs to the North and West African
countries, Ahmad ensured that for the first time since the establishment of the
organisation the presidency has been won by a nation in the south of African.
This is surely a great achievement for the region and we sincerely hope that as
per the new president’s manifesto, football will see change.
We also hope that Ahmad will play a unifying role within the football fraternity
by embracing even those who endorsed the outgoing president during the election
process.
This is the time when those who played a significant role towards the
development of the game are given the much-deserved recognition, and of course
let football continue to promote oneness among different football nations.
With the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) also having a
‘new broom’ in Gianni Infantino, surely the football fraternity should not
be blamed for expecting positive changes in the development of the game. Could
this be the era? Only time will tell!
Comfort Jele