Second term safely in the bag for Patrice Motsepe at CAF

Motsepe, who only indicated his interest in continuing in his current position and going for the second term in the middle of the nomination process, following some strong persuasion from the zonal unions and member associations presidents and some sponsors, will go unopposed at the next CAF elections on 12 March 2025 in Cairo.

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Credited with turning around the plight of CAF in his first four-year term since March 2021, including the latest gains of reducing their financial losses by 68%, reducing the deficit from $29 million (R529 million to R168 million), which was declared at the recent CAF Congress in Addis Ababa, the continental football mother body has restored investor confidence. This has also seen an increase of 40% in prize monies in all competitions. There’s also better recognition for the organization globally from sister confederations like UEFA and CONMBELOL Asian Football Confederation (AFC), just to count a few.

But, it’s in the second term, where he will now be expected to take African football to the next level, continue with his zero tolerance towards corruption, and drive a competitive CAF on the technical front.

Motsepe is going unopposed after former Egyptian FA President Hany Abou Rida (71), who was tipped to challenge him, focused on the nomination to return to the FIFA Council, a position he’s held for the past 20 years and also regaining power in the EFA.

At the recent congress, the age limit of 70 was removed from the statutes, with speculation rife that Abou Rida would take on Motsepe, with Egyptian media also speculating that he had the backing of FIFA President Gianni Infantino to do that. But the events of Addis Ababa showed that Motsepe enjoys a lot of support.

But it’s still not clear how the former Mamelodi Sundowns President’s team would like after March 2025, with some of his Vice-Presidents like Souleiman Waberi from Djibouti and Kanizat Ibrahim from Comoros, going for FIFA Council positions as well. The removal of languages for FIFA Council positions has also opened a free-for-all all type of contestation for these positions, and this could influence how Motsepe’s cabinet looks like after March. 

Currently, respected former CAF Exco member and ex-Ivorian FA President Jacques Anouma and SAFA President Danny Jordaan, who was released on bail yesterday after he was arrested on fraud and theft charges, are the two advisors to Motsepe. It’s also not clear if the status quo will remain.