Patrice Motsepe will lead the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for four more years. The 63-year-old South African ran for president again and won without anyone else trying for the job. Motsepe has been Caf president since 2021. He wants to keep making good progress in his second term.
The election took place at a special Caf meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also present. Motsepe owns a big mining company and a South African soccer club called Mamelodi Sundowns. He said in October 2024 that he planned to run for president again.
Motsepe's re-election was expected. But there were still some important votes at the meeting. Samuel Eto'o, a famous soccer player from Cameroon, won a seat on Caf's executive committee. The group also chose Africa's members for the Fifa council.
Motsepe took over as Caf president when the organization was having problems. He replaced Ahmad from Madagascar. Ahmad was the first Caf president ever banned by Fifa. Since Motsepe became president, African soccer has made more money. The Africa Cup of Nations last year earned $72 million, 18 times more than the previous tournament in 2022.
Motsepe told the BBC that Caf has made progress but still has a lot of work to do. At the meeting on Wednesday, he talked about improving soccer stadiums in Africa. In 2021, 36 African countries could not play soccer matches at home. That number is down to 12 now. But Motsepe thinks that is still too many. He said CAF and FIFA need to keep helping countries build better stadiums.
Samuel Eto'o's joining of Caf's executive committee was a big deal. Eto'o was voted African Footballer of the Year four times and is currently the president of Cameroon's soccer federation. He was the only candidate from central Africa, so he won the seat easily.
But Eto'o almost did not get to run at all. Caf's governance committee said in January that he could not be a candidate. Eto'o took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court agreed with Eto'o last week, saying he had the right to be on the list of candidates.
The election took place at a special Caf meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also present. Motsepe owns a big mining company and a South African soccer club called Mamelodi Sundowns. He said in October 2024 that he planned to run for president again.
Motsepe's re-election was expected. But there were still some important votes at the meeting. Samuel Eto'o, a famous soccer player from Cameroon, won a seat on Caf's executive committee. The group also chose Africa's members for the Fifa council.
Motsepe took over as Caf president when the organization was having problems. He replaced Ahmad from Madagascar. Ahmad was the first Caf president ever banned by Fifa. Since Motsepe became president, African soccer has made more money. The Africa Cup of Nations last year earned $72 million, 18 times more than the previous tournament in 2022.
Motsepe told the BBC that Caf has made progress but still has a lot of work to do. At the meeting on Wednesday, he talked about improving soccer stadiums in Africa. In 2021, 36 African countries could not play soccer matches at home. That number is down to 12 now. But Motsepe thinks that is still too many. He said CAF and FIFA need to keep helping countries build better stadiums.
Samuel Eto'o's joining of Caf's executive committee was a big deal. Eto'o was voted African Footballer of the Year four times and is currently the president of Cameroon's soccer federation. He was the only candidate from central Africa, so he won the seat easily.
But Eto'o almost did not get to run at all. Caf's governance committee said in January that he could not be a candidate. Eto'o took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court agreed with Eto'o last week, saying he had the right to be on the list of candidates.
