Following yesterday’s win at the 43rd Confederation of African Football (CAF) General Assembly held in Rabat, Morocco where Botswana Football Association (BFA) President, Maclean Letshwiti was elected as an executive member of CAF EXCO, the team today (Saturday) held an inaugural meeting to induct and map the future of African football.
The meeting was expected and intended as an opportunity to “sound out” future decisions and courses of action, as a means of discussing and sharing ideas concerning the future of CAF, courtesy of the newly elected EXCO.
“My win is a victory for our country, the continent, and our entire football prospects. Botswana has been playing second fiddle for long, and it’s about time, we hold our own against the greatest in the world of sport, particularly football,” said Letshwiti.
The 43rd CAF General Assembly, elected Dr. Patrice Motsepe, as President of CAF. Dr Motsepe, who becomes the seventh person to occupy the position of CAF President, begins his four-year term after being elected unopposed by the Member Associations of CAF, present in Rabat.
Going to the General Assembly, Africa adopted a unity stance which saw other three candidates, namely Augustin Senghor, Ahmed Yahya and Jacques Anouma withdraw from the race to be President.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was in attendance in Rabat in his remarks in the General Assembly commended the African Member Associates for the unity they have displayed in the last few weeks.
In his first address as CAF President, Dr Motsepe spoke about creating a new CAF that will take African football to new heights.
“I’m very excited. There is a great deal of urgency of getting things done. There is a going to be a lot of work and a lot of running. We have to make sure that African football is not just competitive but globally successful. Africa spends millions of dollars every year paying for tv rights of leagues outside Africa. There is a need to build our own products and we will succeed.
“The face of African football will never be the same again. 95% of our conversations will be about football and that is fine but there must be that 5% where we discuss the importance of the private sector partnerships. We need to restore the pride, the dignity and the respect of Africa,” said Dr Motsepe.
Dr Motsepe has committed to visiting each of the 54 Member Associates of CAF as part of a plan to understand the problems facing Member Associates and also to assist in creating better relations with the corporate world.
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??? ?????????: Dr. Patrice Motsepe (South Africa)
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Francophone – Mathurin de Chacus (Benin)/ Mamoutou Toure (Mali)
Anglophone – Amaju Melvin Pinnick (Nigeria)
Arabophone Hispanophone Lusophone – Hani Abo Rida (Egypt)/ Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
Women Representative – Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone)
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Women Representative – Kanizat IBRAHIM (Comoros)
North Zone – Wadie Jary (Tunisia)
West Zone A – Mustapha Ishola Raji (Liberia)
West Zone B – Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (Niger)
Central Zone – Seidou Mbombo Njoya (Cameroon)
Centre-East Zone – Suleiman Waberi (Djibouti)
South Zone – Evlis Raja Chetty (Seychelles)/ Maclean Cortez Letshwiti (Botswana)
