Put African football first, and be your own man Ahmad... not Infantino’s proxy

I THOUGHT I would be happy when I heard the news that Issa Hayatou had finally been toppled as CAF president after a 29-year rule.

For the first time in my life – that began in 1989 – I will be calling someone other than Hayatou president of the continent’s football governing body. Ahmad Ahmad did the unthinkable in Addis Ababa on Thursday. The Madagascan obtained 34 of the 54 votes to oust Hayatou. The news was met with wild celebrations across the continent as many felt Hayatou needed to go.

I was among those who shared that sentiment and wel- comed the change.

But I am cautious of the new man because of how he came to power. Fifa president Gianni Infantino openly campaigned for his election even though he didn’t say it in so many words. Infantino and Hayatou weren’t the best of friends after CAF under the Cameroonian backed Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa from Bahrain in the Fifa presidential election. Infantino won that race and spoke the gospel of change after ending Sepp Blatter’s 17-year reign.

I nfantino attended Ahmad’s campaign rally that was paraded as Phillip Chin- yangwa’s 58th birthday bash. The Zimbabwean Football Association president, who served as Ahmad’s campaign manager, argued that the party was to celebrate his election victory as Cosafa president. That election, replacing one of Hayatou’s lieutenants, Suketu Patel, was part of the winds of change blowing across the continent.

Hayatou shook. His stranglehold on the continent was under threat for the first time. He hit out at Chinyangwa through CAF – saying that his party, that had around 24 FA presidents, was an attempt to “destabilise the continental football mother body”. Chinyangwa and Ahmad were unfazed by that letter. At the party, speakers openly spoke out on the need for change. That’s the background to Ahmad’s election.

His biggest challenge will be to show that he isn’t Infantino’s proxy. Ahmad must put Africa first. For all his flaws, Hayatou stood his ground against the influence of Europe. Uefa have told CAF on countless occasions to move the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) from January to June so as to accommodate European clubs. Hayatou didn’t budge, arguing that Africa won’t be dictated to by Europeans on how to run their business.

If Ahmad can be his own man and stand his ground, the continent will benefit. He won on a ticket of transparency, something we didn’t have under Hayatou’s reign.

Ahmad’s election as CAF president could be a defining moment going forward. This year has already seen an increase in prize money in all competitions and the restructuring of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup by featuring more teams in the group stage.

There’s still a lot to be done to develop the game, like women’s football and ensuring we reach a point where we can have a number of professional leagues across the continent. Also that we don’t have situations where teams pull out of the Champions League and Afcon because they don’t have money. Malawi are the latest victims of that.

It’s a disgrace that with all the resources and broadcasting companies the continent has, our broadcasting rights are owned by a French company. We can’t be pouring more money out of the continent. There are allegations that Lagardere Sports weren’t even the more financially rewarding option as there was an Egyptian company prepared to pay just over R6-billion more.

But because the Lagardere negotiations and bidding process lacked transparency, the possibility exists that we were short-changed billions. These are the issues Ahmad must fix. The worry is that having been pushed into power by so many people, he will arrive there owing a lot of people favours.

He needs to quickly stamp his authority and make it clear that his agenda is the development of the game across the continent. That means being open. It boggles the mind how CAF could have decided to send the next three Afcons to one region.

That would see six of the seven Afcons since 2012 go to West Africa. That region happens to be where Hayatou wielded a lot of power. I just hope that the winds of change that propelled Ahmed to the CAF presidency aren’t just hot air, but a move in the right direction that will develop the game.