October 28 – Patrice Motsepe has said he will seek a second term as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The organisation confirmed his candidacy, with elections taking place in 2025.
On the sidelines of the CAF General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Motsepe once again sidestepped a question about his future as African football supremo, but in a brief statement on Friday, CAF confirmed that the South African will stand for re-election in March.
Motsepe had waited until he was sure no-one would stand against him, according to one insider Insideworldfootball spoke to. If he had been challenged he would not have put run for re-election.
“Following requests from numerous CAF member association presidents, zonal union presidents and key stakeholders, Motsepe has finally agreed to stand as a candidate at the CAF presidential elections scheduled for March 2025,” read a statement from CAF suggesting he is the executive’s preferred candidate, and seemingly speaking for the membership and their desire that he carries on – African MA’s in the current environment seem to have lost both their voices and ability to think on their own.
In 2021, mining magnate Motsepe succeeded Ahmad Ahmad, banned for corruption, to become CAF president with the backing of FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Other candidates – Augustin Senghor of Senegal, Ahmed Yahya from Mauritania and the Ivorian Jacques Anouma – withdrew from the race in return for executive or advisory roles.
The jury is still out on the success of Motsepe’s first term.
CAF’s flagship competition, the Africa Cup of Nations, keeps suffering problems and at the 2022 finals in Cameroon at least eight people were killed in a crowd crush at the Olembe Stadium, but earlier this year the tournament in Ivory Coast was deemed an unprecedented success with better infrastructure, a more level playing field and greater commercial revenue.
At last week’s general assembly, Motsepe said the tournament generated $72 million in profit, dwarfing the $4.5 million profit from the previous finals.
When Motsepe arrived at CAF, the organisation was on the brink of bankruptcy following the cancellation of the $1 billion contract with Lagardère. Last week, the football boss confirmed that CAF paid a settlement of $50 million to the marketing company in two tranches – effectively turning a £100 million loss (CAF were unable to immediately match that figure in commercial sponsorships) into a $150 million one.
But the South African has struck an upbeat tone about the organisation’s finances. CAF doubled development money for the member associations from $10.8 million to $21.6 million. The 54 members receive $400,000 on an annual basis, but a sizeable chunk – $50,000 – is reserved for the FA presidents after the membership voted through a pay rise for top executives.
It is a timely increase in stipend with a, now, uncontested presidential election around the corner.
For the 2024-2025 financial year, CAF projects revenue of $149 million, a drop from the $166 million for 2023-24, and expenses of $138 million, resulting in a net profit of around $11 million.
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