By Osasu Obayiuwana in Marrakech
March 11 – Issa Hayatou, elected without opposition to a record 7th term as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has hit out at critics of his lengthy tenure.
“I have been called a dictator and all other kind of things… I am open to criticism, even when it is very difficult to accept, especially from the media, who often don’t know anything about CAF and its procedures,” said the Cameroonian.
“I didn’t think that I would be in CAF for 25 years… I didn’t have a particular career plan [when I came into the office].”
Reflecting on some of the decisions taken by CAF whilst in charge, Hayatou said the January 2010 incident, in which they sanctioned Togo, for abruptly departing from the Cup of Nations in Angola, following the murder of two members of their delegation, by political separatists in Cabinda, was the most difficult of his career.
CAF initially banned Togo from the two subsequent tournaments, as well as imposing a $50,000 fine, claiming that ‘political interference’ from the Togolese government led to the team’s decision to return home.
That decision attracted fierce global condemnation for CAF and Hayatou in particular, who were accused of lacking human empathy for the tragedy that befell the West African team.
“The decision to suspend Togo was the most difficult decision in my 25 years as president…We were accused of not protecting the team. But how could we have done that? CAF has no army… They were supposed to have arrived in Angola by air, but they decided to travel by road, following which the shooting incident happened.”
“After the decision, we were accused of being heartless and even being accomplices to the assassins.”
It took the intervention of Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, before CAF decided to reverse the ban.
Hayatou, a senior FIFA vice-president, who has also been on its executive committee for 25 years, received a commemorative certificate from Blatter, who effusively praised his colleague.
“Hayatou does not look like a prince but like a King,” Blatter said.
The 67-year old Cameroonian, who challenged Blatter in what was a very bitter fight for the FIFA presidency in Seoul, South Korea, in 2002, claimed he has never seen the Swiss, who celebrated his 77th birthday in Marrakech, as his enemy.
“Blatter was my opponent in the 2002 elections but he was never my enemy… No international sports federation president has done more for Africa than he (Blatter) has,” Hayatou said.
Both men were the first two inductees of the CAF Hall of Fame, which was formally launched at the Congress.
Contact the writer of this story at osasu.obayiuwanaAinsideworldfootball.com