World football governing organization, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has appointed its Secretary General Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura as ‘FIFA General Delegate for Africa’ in a bid to improve football governance on the continent.
This comes at the back of reports the arrest of, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad in Paris earlier this month in a corruption-related matter.
Chair of the Nigeria Football Federation and Ahmad’s first vice-president, Amaju Pinnick was next in line to preside over the CAF, but has now been marred, he came through the ranks as sports in his native Delta State, also has some corruption allegations to face in the Nigerian courts.
Senegalese-born Samoura, an astute administrator with decades of experience at the United Nations, has been handed the unusual title of FIFA General Delegate for Africa and will run the CAF from August till early next year. The time frame is subject to a six-month extension, at the discretion of FIFA. In that period FIFA, through Samoura, will conduct a forensic audit that could throw up some more scandals.
The biennial Africa Cup of Nations is currently under way in Egypt and the 24 competing nations have got down to the business of playing thrilling football, taking their destiny in their hands.
To further underscore what may be Zürich’s deep-seated distrust for Pinnick and the rest of Ahmad’s lieutenants in Cairo, FIFA also suspended payments to the CAF two days ago. The New York Times reports that the withholding of funds may have been a necessary move in getting the the CAF hierarchy to agree to let Samoura take control on the eve of the Africa Cup.
Nigerian journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, writing for Al-Jazeera, revealed that Ahmad had also bankrolled the hajj pilgrimage journeys of a number of African football association heads, adding that, CAF’s unwillingness to honour its own rules and laid-down procedures undermines its credibility as a governing body.
Disgraced former FIFA executive Sepp Blatter called Samoura’s appointment “new colonialism”, while UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin said the European football body did not approve of FIFA’s decision.
Bottom line: First Issa Hayatou, then Ahmad. How many Africans does it take to change a lightbulb at the CAF headquarters? It remains to be seen how many more officials the world’s most powerful woman – and most powerful African – in football will sweep away with her reforms when the final whistle has blown in Cairo.
