Hats off to Motsepe!

“Credit where it is due”, we often hear people say when they acknowledge the work done by someone else. This noble phrase may be overused at times, but it is so befitting when you look at the impact made by the seventh CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, since he assumed the office on 12 March 2021, at the 6th of October City, Giza, Egypt, headquarters. When Motsepe announced his decision to stand for presidency, it was met with mixed feelings because not everyone believed the mining magnate would be up to the challenge of leading such a controversial organisation.

First of all, we are talking about a man whose only involvement in football was as the president of Mamelodi Sundowns. Unlike your Dr. Danny Jordan, who is the SAFA President, Dr. Motsepe played no visible role in the domestic DStv Premiership nor the Assoc iation’s leadership. Therefore, he was always c ooped into the Chloorkop-based team’s walls as his only c ontribution towards our football. To hear that he was looking at c ontesting for the biggest leadership seat in Afric an football seemed like a businessman venturing blindly into politic s for the first time. No one needs a reminder about how dirty the voting and c anvassing proc ess c an be for these positions, let alone the behindthe-sc enes squabbles and c orruption that one has to navigate their way through. Motsepe hardly tic ked any of these boxes to every ordinary footballer’s eyes. To say the founder of Afric an Rainbow Minerals has already surpassed expec tations and made his impac t felt sinc e assuming offic e would be an understatement. The 61-year-old Tlhopane deserves all the c redit and hats off to him for turning this Assoc iation’s fortunes and image around, in suc h a short spac e of time. Not many gave him a c hanc e, yours truly inc luded, knowing the shenanigans that are assoc iated with the position he was going for. He outlined his 10-point plan to transform CAF, but even then, not many believed he would make as muc h impac t as he has had.

How many of us thought the move for the 61-year-old to c ontest for CAF presidenc y was FIFA President, Gianni Infantino’s plan to have his lapdog that he c ould use to c ontrol Afric an football through the CAF offic e? After all, Afric an leaders are known to be used by their ‘superiors’ and if there is one thing this Beautiful Game has taught us, it is that ‘nothing is for free’. At fac e value, looking at the abovementioned fac ts, you’ve got to admit and ac c ept that we were wrong to pre-judge Kgosi Augustine Motsepe’s son before he c ould even show us what he was made of. We really doubted him and, for that, some of us owe him an apology. The man has been nothing but a breath of fresh air to our football and we c an now safely say we have a c lean leader in the hottest seat of Afric an football.

Motsepe’s tenure has been refreshing and now, for the first time in over five dec ades, it was rec ently announc ed that three East Afric an c ountries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will be hosting the 2027 Afric a Cup of Nations. Ethiopia was the last c ountry from the eastern subregion of the Afric an c ontinent to host this prestigious tournament in 1976. That was almost five dec ades ago! Why has it taken so long, if CAF belongs to all the 54 Member Assoc iations? This just goes to show that Motsepe has a vision for this c ontinent and marking his 10-point plan off, one item at a time, by taking Afric an football to the masses rather than a selec t few powerful c ountries. This man knows exac tly what he is doing and needs all the support he c an get. In all fairness, there was no reason for the biennial tournament to take this long for the East Afric ans to host. Looking from a distanc e, Motsepe is not here to line his poc kets but to serve the Beautiful Game and take Afric an football to the next level. That’s selfless servic e to the whole c ontinent, not just foc using on Sundowns, and by extension, ensuring that when we get to the world stage we don’t embarrass ourselves. The man has a c lear vision for Afric an football and he’s been making his presenc e felt. A lot has c hanged sinc e he took c harge. When you look at the Afric an Super League, notwithstanding the reluc tanc e from some people, this c ould just prove to be the best thing to ever happen to Afric an football. There is a lot of financ ial reward in partic ipating in this tournament, there is a lot of experienc e and exposure that will c ome with it, while players should be smiling all the way to the bank for their daunting travelling and fixture c ongestion they have to c ontend with.

Like everything in life, there is still room for improvement and we expec t the President to deliver on one of his 10-point plans, women’s football development. It is worth mentioning that he has already impac ted women’s football by inc reasing prize money and ensuring that c lubs get their women’s teams up and running. However, what we saw in the COSAFA Women’s Championship rec ently is something that we shouldn’t still be witnessing in our Beautiful Game in this day and age! We c an’t still have our women athletes playing tournaments for R20 000 individual prize money for the Player of the Tournament, as it was the c ase with Malawi forward, Temwa Chawinga, who also won the Golden Boot award. Golden Glove winner, Cynthia Shongwe, from Zimbabwe, also walked away with the same prize money. Yes, this is a COSAFA issue, but it should not be happening and it starts at the top. Surely, as a c ontinent and region, we c an do muc h better than that!

We’ve seen how well women’s football performed at the rec ent FIFA Women’s World Cup and for us to take our ladies’ game to the next level, we have to make sure not to drop the standard and invest immensely in our women’s football. Corporate has to c ome on board to uplift this game so that there are professional women’s leagues ac ross the c ontinent, with our women playing as full-time professionals like their male c ounterparts. We now see more and more Afric an women getting overseas c ontrac ts bec ause of the exposure and their good performanc es. The inc entives go a long way in levelling the playing fields bec ause, for far too long, no one c ared enough to invest in women’s football.

Sinc e taking over, Motsepe has ensured that prize monies have been inc reased in every c ompetition and that means more money for the teams and players. Hardly five years into his term, Motsepe has made a signific ant impac t to Afric an football and seems c lear about his vision, just as he did when he c ame into the Sundowns pic ture. With more support and unity behind his leadership, Afric an football c an only grow and improve. The world will surely be looking at us differently, something we’ve always longed for. We hear of no sc andals involving Afric an or CAF leadership as everything seems to be done above board. This is c redit to Motsepe and it augurs well for our football. It is also good that players will be making as muc h money as they c an through the new regime’s initiatives. It is good that someone finally has the players’ best interests at heart. We’ve got to support and apprec iate the differenc e Motsepe has made sinc e taking c harge. Long may it c ontinue. Clearly this man is up to something bec ause, owing to his leadership style, the Chloorkop-based mac hine has been operating with muc h suc c ess even in his absenc e bec ause he’s laid a solid foundation.