Messy CAF politics precede Super Cup
Presidential hopefuls trade words ahead of the game between Champions League winners Sundowns and Confederation Cup victors TP Mazembe
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) bigwigs landed in South Africa this week to attend the annual Super Cup tie between Mamelodi Sundowns and TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They flew into a rising storm of protest by regional affiliates seemingly no longer prepared to toe the party line.
The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has rocked the boat after meeting in Johannesburg last week. They took a radical, if not far-reaching, decision not to support incumbent CAF president Issa Hayatou at the presidential elections during the CAF congress in Addis Ababa next month.
Cosafa — led by newly elected president Philip Chiyangwa, who is also the Zimbabwean Football Association (FA) president — threw its weight behind Malagasy Football Association president Ahmad Ahmad. This seems not to have gone down well with the Cameroonian, who has ruled African football with an iron fist since 1988.
In a fit of pique, Hayatou retaliated against Ahmad’s decision to stand by withdrawing Madagascar’s right to host the CAF Under-17 African Cup of Nations tournament, due to be staged in April, and handed the right to host the youth event to Gabon.
It is said in the corridors of the CAF headquarters in Cairo that Madagascar was not technically ready to host the eight-team event, but the decision smacks of punishment for Ahmad refusing to endorse Hayatou for the CAF presidency.
As the drama unfolded, Chiyangwa also found himself at the wrong end of Hayatou’s wrath. He has been warned sternly not to proceed with preparations for his birthday party.
Chiyangwa has already issued several invitation letters to friends and FA presidents across the continent, and to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, to celebrate his February 3 birthday belatedly as well as winning the Cosafa presidency.
The CAF regards the upcoming Harare birthday party as nothing more than an “illegal gathering” aimed at hatching a coup against the present leaders.
“The CAF leadership has been informed that a meeting has been convened by yourself in your capacity as Cosafa president in Harare on February 24,” reads a letter from CAF secretary general Hicham el Amrani to Chiyangwa.
“Such a meeting would not only include presidents of member associations of Cosafa but also presidents of many other member associations outside the Cosafa zone.
“The CAF leadership would therefore