Ahmad removes Hayatou from the CAF presidential seat

16 March 2017 - 15:49 By Mninawa Ntloko
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New Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ahmad (R) posing for a picture with Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 24 February 2017.
New Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ahmad (R) posing for a picture with Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 24 February 2017.
Image: Ahmad via Twitter

Madagascan upstart Ahmad has managed what had seemed impossible for many years and beat Issa Hayatou to become the new Confederation of African Football (CAF) president on Thursday.

The 70-year-old Hayatou had been president since 1988 and Lionel Messi was only nine months old when he became the most powerful man in continental football.

His 29-year reign finally came to an end after Ahmad won the CAF election by 34 to 20 votes on a dramatic day in African football.

  • D-Day for Safa president Danny Jordaan on ThursdaySouth African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan is among those who are standing in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) elections and he is confident of success in his bid for a place on the executive committee.
  • Does upstart Ahmad have enough support to unseat long-serving CAF president Hayatou?Madagascar’s Ahmad already has the commitment of enough votes to suggest he will become the most successful challenger to Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou‚ but his chances of success are still seen as slim. 

It is believed that the 57-year-old Ahmad‚ a former government minister and who goes by just a single name‚ will usher in a new era in continental football.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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