46 nations want Caf boss Ahmad to serve second term

Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar reacts after being elected the new president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in Addis Ababa on March 16, 2017.

Photo credit: File | AFP

What you need to know:

  • The letter praised Ahmad, but made no mention of various controversies surrounding him, including being probed by the Fifa ethics committee for alleged financial irregularities, which he denies.
  • At the request of Ahmad, Fifa sent secretary general Fatma Samoura to Caf headquarters in Cairo last year to assist for six months in the running of the organisation.

Johannesburg

A letter has been sent to Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Ahmad Ahmad from 46 of the 54 member associations requesting him to run for a second four-year term.

Philip Chiyangwa, president of southern African football body Cosafa, confirmed to AFP that a letter supporting Ahmad had been delivered to the former Malagasy politician.

The presidency election is scheduled for Rabat next March and the 60-year-old has until November 12 to decide whether he will seek re-election.

A simple majority -- 28 votes if each association participates -- is required to win the election but no official has announced their candidacy.

Algeria, Botswana, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe were the eight nations not included in the letter of support.

Ahmad scored a stunning victory three years ago over incumbent Issa Hayatou, a Cameroonian who had ruled African football for 29 years.

Senegal winger Sadio Mane (left) receives the award for Player of the Year from Ahmad Ahmad, President of the Confederation of African Football, during the 2019 Caf Awards in the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada on January 7, 2020.

Photo credit: File | AFP

The letter praised Ahmad, but made no mention of various controversies surrounding him, including being probed by the Fifa ethics committee for alleged financial irregularities, which he denies.

At the request of Ahmad, Fifa sent secretary general Fatma Samoura to Caf headquarters in Cairo last year to assist for six months in the running of the organisation.