CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe believes African Football continues to take the right steps, especially through improved governance that has caused growth and development of the game both on and off the pitch.
He said so while speaking at the Global Perspectives conference organised by CNN in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.
“Football in Africa is undergoing structural transformation that has enhanced its commercial value and investment appeal. I believe with improved governance, the game will continue to grow,” he said.
At the same event, he revealed that discussions are ongoing in regard to the scheduling of the Africa Cup of Nations. It should be noted that last year, the tournament had been moved from its current format of being played every two years to four years.
However, after discussions and engagements over the last few months, there is a will to revert to the old format, and consultations are still ongoing.
Motsepe further affirmed Africa’s position on the forthcoming FIFA elections, where the continent unanimously threw its weight behind incumbent Gianni Infantino.
“We couldn’t be in a better place in Qatar because Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022. Enormously successful. We all need to work together. Gianni is a very good friend, a very loyal friend. Europe is very, very important. Europe has done a lot of good work. With these interventions, I am confident that with the goodwill of all the participants, we will all come together and there will be elections taking place in a few weeks. We have said very clearly that we support Gianni.” He stated.
Motsepe indicated that there has been a misrepresentation in the area of government.
“Governance for us, transparency from an ethics perspective is critically important because we come from a history where there hasn’t always been adherence to democracy or regular elections. Some of the leaders, there have been issues of corruption. And that’s why we will always have a future as a continent if there is democracy, governance, ethics, transparency and what is taking place in FIFA. There have been allegations of lack of governance. It is a very simple process. If anybody is accused of having either violated governance or behaved in a manner that is not in the rules and regulations, take him to the Ethics Committee. Let that process take place. And let the judgement be made whether there is a violation or not. I am very confident. We had a very good meeting at the FIFA Council. There is a commitment across the board to work together for the benefit of football in the world, and we will make it progress,” he added.
FIFA will go to the polls on 18th March next year in Rabat, Morocco, and so far, only Infantino has expressed public interest.
