Billionaire Patrice Motsepe will indeed present his candidacy for the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the South African Federation (SAFA) confirmed on November 9, 2020. The owner of the club Mamelodi Sundowns is the third declared candidate after the outgoing head of CAF, the Malagasy Ahmad and the Ivorian Jacques Anouma.
The information fell like a bomb yesterday. South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, brother-in-law of the President of his country Cyril Ramaphosa, wants to go to the presidency of the African Football Confederation (CAF). The one who made his fortune in mining intends to run as head of African football on March 12, 2021 in Rabat.
The person, in quarantine due to Covid-19, could not explain it himself. So the President of the South African Federation (SAFA) Danny Jordaan and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa took care of it for him on 9 November 2020 in Johannesburg during a press conference. An event that the head of Nigerian football Amaju Pinnick and the head of the Sierra Leonean federation Isha Johansen gave their support via video, just like the Botswana association Maclean Letshwiti.
Not an anti-Ahmad candidacy
Amaju Pinnick, former vice president of CAF, cold in the outgoing boss Ahmad, admitted that he wanted to run in four months. But the Nigerian has decided to join the candidacy of club owner Mamelodi Sundowns. “If you have someone with better qualities than yours, you have to learn from them and wait your turn,” said the man, who still hopes to be run as Africa’s representative in the FIFA Council. We will work and play and prevent him from being elected “.
Isha Johansen was more offensive in her intervention. She addressed without naming the current president of the CAF, Ahmad, about her victory over Cameroon Issa Hayatou 2017: “Of course we are all for change. Four years ago, there was talk of a wind of change. […] We support Patrice Motsepe because we have not seen the real change that African football needs. ”
Despite Johansen’s accusation, Danny Jordaan wanted to be reassuring. He assured himself that he had warned Ahmad about Patrice Motsepe’s candidacy. And he did not want to answer a question about a possible conviction of Madagascar by the Ethics Committee of the International Federation (Fifa). “You can not win because of your opponent’s supposed weaknesses,” he swept away. You can only win with your own strength ”.
Hand extended to Jacques Anouma
Danny Jordaan therefore tried to draw a glowing portrait of Patrice Motsepe. “His success in football and business is well known, whether in our country, on the continent or around the world,” he said, recalling that the head of African Rainbow Minerals has been distinguished by several taken over by the prestigious magazine Forbes. We have one of the greatest geniuses in business as a candidate for CAF ”. A businessman who could therefore meet the growing economic challenges of continental football, especially in the times of Covid-19.
In his speech, the Minister for Sport, Arts and Culture insisted in particular on the diplomatic aspect of Patrice Motsepe’s candidacy. Nathi Mthethwa especially reached out to Ivorian Jacques Anouma, declared another candidate for the presidency of the CAF. “I am sure we can persuade other countries and other candidates,” he said.
On October 28, the Malagasy Ahmad announced his intention to run a second term after a hectic fiscal year 2017-2021. His supporters have assured him that he enjoys the support of 46 of the 54 federations affiliated to the CAF. Has an Anglophone front committed against his re-election three days before the candidacies were closed for the vote in March 2021?
In the world of African football, Patrice Motsepe is far from a figure well known to the public. Like the Congolese Moïse Katumbi with Tout Puissant Mazembe, South Africa appears above all as the head of a powerful club: Mamelodi Sundowns. If the formation of Pretoria is not the most powerful on the continent, it is theoretically enough to make the billionaire’s candidacy admissible. The rules of the African Football Confederation (CAF) do stipulate that a candidate “must have played an active role in football (as a player or official of FIFA, CAF or a member of a national CAF or one of its affiliated members) for at least two of the last five years before the submission of his candidacy. “Patrice Motsepe can also count on the indispensable support of SAFA and three other federations: Botswana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Danny Jordaan said his case was sent to CAF’s headquarters for verification. fortune is estimated at $ 2.4 billion to be able to emerge on March 12, 2021?
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