Issa Hayatou, the strong man of African Football has lost the CAF presidential election to Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar. The election was held today (16 March 2017) in Ethiopia.
Ahmad had 34 votes while Hayatou had 20.
Results of the election: Ahmed Ahmed: 34 votes
Issa Hayatou: 20 votes #CAFGA2017— CAF (@CAF_Online) March 16, 2017
Ahmed Ahmed of Madagascar is the new CAF president #CAFGA2017
— CAF (@CAF_Online) March 16, 2017
The odds were against Cameroonian born Hayatou because football federation heads across the continent, especially from the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), had said that it was time for him to leave after 29 years as president of CAF.
His situation wasn’t any better because he wasn’t in good terms with Giani Infantino, the FIFA president.
His loss will come as a surprise to many African football experts and fans.
