The newly elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad of Madagascar makes his first visit to South Africa since his shock election triumph for a ‘celebratory’ meeting on Friday.
One of his principal backers‚ the Cosafa president Philip Chiyangwa‚ is seeking to assemble in Johannesburg the 13 other presidents of football associations in the region to meet with the new CAF boss.
It will be their first get-together since Ahmad upstaged Issa Hayatou at the CAF elections in Addis Ababa on March 16 and won a surprise four-year term at the helm of African football.
Chiyangwa‚ boss of the Zimbabwe Football Association‚ had been one of his few vocal backers before the election and as Cosafa president will be subtly reminding Ahmad where his powerbase is and who helped get elevate him into power.
- Jordaan plays down Infantino role in Ahmad victory‚ praises African football leadersDanny Jordaan has played down any role that might have been played by Fifa president Gianni Infantino in the unseating of 28-year Caf president Issa Hayatou‚ and praised the contribution made by African football leaders.
The new CAF president has been in Cairo for the last weeks at the organisation’s headquarters and also travelled to Morocco to help boost their World Cup bidding campaign.
He was accompanied there by the presidents of the DR Congo and Ghana football associations who are hoping to become CAF vice presidents.
Ahmad will make his choice known next week when the new-look CAF executive committee‚ including SAFA president Danny Jordaan‚ meets for the first time.
Ahmad beat Hayatou‚ who had been president since 1988‚ by 34-20 votes with South Africa among his backers.
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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