HAYATOU AND A NEW ERA IN CAF

Age and dynamism are required in the running of international sports associations

While Nigeria played a critical role in the rise of Issa Hayatou in African football, it also played a role in his fall. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, who has now been elected into the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee, was one of those whose push against Hayatou proved very crucial as he was defeated by 34 votes to 20 by Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar after 29 years in office.

In 1984, Hayatou was a student in the administrative class of the late Patrick Okpomo, two-time Secretary General of the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), in Lagos. Precisely, the former Cameroonian quarter miler was on an 18-month programme in sports management course with the late Okpomo as the course adviser. Two years after the programme, Hayatou was elected into the executive committee of CAF at the 1986 Nations Cup finals in Egypt. Another two years later, he rose to become the new CAF president following the health crisis that eventually claimed the life of Ydnekatchew Tessema from Ethiopia. Hayatou was just two years old in the executive committee of the African football ruling body at the time.

Indeed, Hayatou’s rise in CAF was as meteoric as it was fortuitous. Even though it was Omar Sey that was at the period being groomed as a successor by Tessema, his appointment as the External Affairs Minister for his country, The Giambia, in 1988 paved way for the young Cameroonian to win the office ahead of then CAF Vice-President, Dr Abdel Halim Mohamed (Sudan) who was leading the body in acting capacity at the time. But following his defeat last week, Hayatou held the record for longevity in the CAF executive committee having been there for 31 years. This is apart from being the president for 29 years.

What Hayatou’s defeat signifies most eloquently is that gerontocracy which used to define football both on the continent and globally is now giving way. With the dynamism required in running international sports associations, long tenure has gradually become a thing of the past. This factor no doubt played out at the last elective congress in Addis Ababa against the incumbency of Hayatou. Physical fitness is as essential as mental alertness which ordinarily diminishes with age.

That perhaps explains why the new generation of CAF executive members is an assemblage of young men in their mid-40s which is a follow up to what happened at the elective congress that brought in Gianni Infantino as the new FIFA president at the age of 46. The election also witnessed the return of Nigeria into the executive committee of CAF when Pinnick defeated one of the allies of Hayatou, Anjorin Moucharafou from Republic of Benin with 32-17 votes to clinch the West-B slot. Pinnick became the third Nigerian after late Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo who retired on age factor and Dr. Amos Adamu, who was suspended from all footballing matter for three years because of his involvement in the cash-for-vote scandal that rocked the body in the process that led to the hosting right for 2018 and 2022 being given to Russia and Qatar.

In fairness to Hayatou, he brought some positive changes into CAF, especially the reorganisation which led to increase in number of competitions including the recent African Nations Championship (CHAN) among players who ply their trade on the continent. But many of those changes were in his younger days. The same factor of age which worked in his favour to defeat the then acting CAF president, Dr. Abdel Halim Mohammed of Sudan, worked against him last week.

We wish Ahmad Ahmad and his new team at CAF success.

WHAT HAYATOU’S DEFEAT SIGNIFIES MOST ELOQUENTLY IS THAT GERONTOCRACY WHICH USED TO DEFINE FOOTBALL BOTH ON THE CONTINENT AND GLOBALLY IS NOW GIVING WAY