New Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad has termed the 12-year broadcasting deal signed by his predecessor Issa Hayatou and French company Lagardere as “not good for African football.”
The contract is a subject of legal proceedings in an Egyptian court for breach of local competitions rules.
Upon his election last month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ahmad promised to relook into the deal which was allegedly single sourced.
“The contract was signed by the previous CAF President. Right now there are procedures against the contract, we just got elected and I’ve appointed people to look after this contract, people who are specialists in TV and in marketing, to study this case about the contract,” the Madagascan told the media in Johannesburg today.
He added, “We took the decision after a discussion with the previous general secretary, and we did this to protect the Confederation of African Football against any wrong doing.
“Everyone is completely in agreement that it is not a good contract, and is not good for African football. Right now I can guarantee you that I will never sign any long contract regarding CAF.”
Ahmad echoed his campaign promise for increased transparency in the running of the Cairo based organization, which operated opaquely during the 29-year-rule of Hayatou.
“We’re living in an environment where everything must be transparent and democratic. The new CAF will follow up with everything that is not transparent or democratic. That’s why I’m waiting for the analysis to come back before I can make any decision.”
