Patrice Motsepe’s expected ascension to the Confederation of African Football presidency is a truly remarkable achievement for SA football, which has had little to celebrate of late.
On Friday, the SA businessman should be installed as CAF president unopposed at the organisation’s congress in Morocco, after a deal brokered by Fifa president Gianni Infantino saw his challengers agree he’s the best man for the job.
It was a masterstroke by Infantino to get Augustin Yahya of Mauritania and Ivory Coast’s Jacques Anouma to throw their weight behind Motsepe and concede before Friday’s vote. The two will become CAF vice-presidents, ensuring a smooth transition and united leadership our continent’s football so desperately needs.
When he announced his candidacy last year, we were always convinced Motsepe was the right candidate, coming from a business background in which he has excelled. But it his investment at Mamelodi Sundowns that should convince sceptics that his heart is truly in the game.
In fact, Sundowns’ dominance under Motsepe should be used as a yardstick to measure his success. It was initially thought he was merely throwing money into a pit, with little to no return. But in the past eight years the club have turned into African giants, conquering the continent in 2016 and totally obliterating the opposition in the local league with five championships since 2014.
Motsepe now has to take that kind of competence into his new role at CAF. But he will be aware that CAF is a different monster altogether. Unlike Downs, he doesn’t own it. He is merely there to serve and try to live up to the key factors on the 10-point plan he unveiled recently.
Top of the list should be transparency and accountability. For too long, CAF has operated in a clandestine manner which does no service to corporate governance. This resulted in Fifa being compelled to take over the organisation’s administration two years ago, in an effort to improve bookkeeping and professionalism after banned president Ahmad Ahmad’s reign of terror within months of replacing Issa Hayatou in 2017.
We have no doubt Motsepe is a breath of fresh air in the CAF ranks. He has no need to embezzle funds for his personal gain. He can afford to pay for his flights, and will have little reason to divert money meant for football development to his pockets. We must caution him, however, that the road ahead is like a minefield.
He will have to appease 54 countries while seeking to put them all in line with principles of governance that Fifa demands, something which has been unknown to most football administrators on this continent, who instead prefer self-enrichment. Luckily in Motsepe, CAF has found a different beast.
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