A proposal to amend the Confederation of Africa (CAF) statutes has reignited fresh tensions, hostilities and rivalries between the consortium of North African powerhouses, and the rest of African countries, following a controversial proposal fronted by Comoros FA.
The fault-lines have existed since time immemorial where North Africans were viewed with suspicion when it came to reports of influencing tournament hosts, referee appointments, seeding placements and even job appointments at the helm of the continental football body.
Speculation is rife that one of the components within the proposal by Comoros FA President Said Athouman which entails the scrapping of the age limit as contained in Article 18 paragraph 9, is sponsored by former Egyptian football strongman Hany Aborida who is currently 71 years of age. He is said to have expressed interest in dethroning South African Patrice Motsepe who was elected unopposed in March 2021.
As justification for his proposal, Said Athouman says that the clause is discriminatory and deprives CAF off the knowledge and experience of older members who may possess the “competence and experience to enhance African football” which is bit paradoxical because the said individuals have previously occupied positions of leadership in football and have gone on to immerse themselves in corruption scandals.
Article 18 paragraph 9 which Comoros FA President Said Athouman seeks to amend.
In addition to the amendment regarding age limits, Said Athouman seeks for the scrapping of Article 13 a-b, for the linguistic allotment of candidates vying in the position of the FIFA Council which are currently defined in categories consisting Francophones, Anglophones, Arabic, Lusophones/Spanish, and one female member.
Which ostensibly means that one region can field all slots for the FIFA Council with fingers being pointed at North Africa for sponsoring the amendments, considering the fact that Comoros is an inactive participant in football activities whose teams rarely qualify for tournaments.
Article 13 paragraph a & b which seeks to abolish linguistic allotment of FIFA Council candidates.
Even more concerning is the seconder of the motion being Mauritania FA President Ahmed Yahya who just so happened to send the letter seconding Comoro’s proposal a day earlier than the mover of the motion himself, fueling suspicion that this is a North African agenda.
Technicality? The seconder’s letter arrived before the mover of the amendment.
In an earlier proposal submitted to CAF in August 2022, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Andrew Kaman had proposed a new structure for both the FIFA Council and the CAF Executive Committee.
The proposal called for representation of all six (6) zones to have one (1) member in FIFA Council, plus one female member thereby reallocating the current seven slots, representation of all six (6) zones to have two (2) members in CAF executive committee, plus CAF President resulting in the new executive having thirteen (13) members, election by the CAF congress of two vice presidents, one for finance and administration and the other for football development and management.
Zambia FA Proposal calling for the election of FIFA Council members to be based on zonal unions ensuring equitable distribution.
The proposal would have seen equitable representation of CAF members in FIFA Council, CAF Executive Committee, FIFA standing committees and CAF standing committees but as it stands, if the proposal by Comoros see’s the light of day, the structural imbalance and terrotorial dominance by one region over the rest of Africa will continue rearing its ugly head at the expense of African football.
