Senghor emerges as strong challenger to SA’s Motsepe
The last man to put his name in the ring to enter what is now a hotly contested Confederation of African Football (Caf) presidential election, Augustin Senghor of Senegal, is viewed as a serious challenger to SA’s Patrice Motsepe, 58, whose backers have claimed they have “35 to 40” guaranteed votes of the 54 voting members for their man.
Senghor, a 55-year-old lawyer and Senegalese FA president since 2009, was involved in a big drive this week to have his bid combined with that of Jacques Anouma, 69, of Ivory Coast to form a joint candidature, whose leader has yet to be declared.
The last and youngest of the four candidates, Ahmed Yahya, 44, of Mauritania, is an outsider as little has been heard of his strategy despite the election, scheduled for Rabat, Morocco, in 12 days’ time.
In a big show of strength and support, Motsepe unveiled his 10-point plan on Thursday in Johannesburg where he had some of the bigwigs of African football in attendance.
They included influential Nigerian FA president Amaju Pinnick, Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa, TP Mazembe president Moise Katumbi, as well as Safa president Danny Jordaan and his vice-president and PSL chair Irvin Khoza.
This was a few days after Fifa president Gianni Infantino attended a Cosafa annual meeting in Johannesburg where Motsepe was assured of the support of all 14 Cosafa members. Infantino also visited the other three candidates this week in an attempt to allay fears that he was backing Motsepe, whose bid was the most publicised.
With the support of Chiyangwa, who was the chief campaign manager for Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad, who succeeded Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou as Caf president in 2017, Motsepe’s bid has been viewed as strong enough to withstand Anouma’s challenge. Anouma is likely to draw his votes from West and North Africa.
But with Pinnick behind Motsepe, the West African vote is already divided, a situation which should give Motsepe a greater chance to take over from Ahmad, who has been banned for five years by Fifa for allegedly misappropriating Caf funds.
“So I can assure you [Motsepe], between 35, 38, and 40 [votes],” Pinnick confidently declared on Thursday.
But with the Caf elections known for lastminute, behind-the-scenes dealings that are alleged to happen in the wee hours in the corridors of hotels, Motsepe’s support can’t be guaranteed.
Like Motsepe, Anouma, if elected, wants to improve Caf’s marketing and communication departments, which are seen as the organisation’s Achilles heel, preventing it from attracting desperately needed investment that can help in developing the members’ infrastructure, club competitions and the continent’s flagship tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations.
“The first thing for me [if he’s elected] will be to reorganise our structures … the executive committee, an administration with a very strong general secretary,” Anouma, a mayor of Goree — an island off the coast of Senegalese capital Dakar — told CGTN television early this month.
Motsepe, who promised to be a president for all members of Caf, was at pains to dispel suggestions that the administration office of Caf, which is based in Cairo, Egypt, will be moved to Johannesburg as soon as he was elected.
“You cannot have a president who is associated with a club and yet he has to play this role of [Caf] leadership,” the Mamelodi Sundowns president said on Thursday, mentioning one of the roles he will have to move away from if elected.
The first thing for me will be to reorganise our structures
Jacques Anouma
Of Ivory Coast, who is a ‘joint candidate’