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Confederation of African Football president, Patrice Motsepe, has agreed to seek re-election in March 2025 following widespread endorsements from numerous CAF Member Association Presidents and Zonal Union Presidents.
The South African billionaire, who was first elected as CAF president on March 12, 2021, in Rabat, Morocco, made his re-election bid public on Friday after months of speculations about his future.
Motsepe’s current tenure has seen significant financial improvements in CAF’s operations, as revealed during the 46th CAF Ordinary Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.
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However, the incumbent president faces potential competition from the Egyptian Football Association’s candidate, Hany Abo Rida, a FIFA counsel member, who has received strong backing from his federation.
“Hany Abo Rida is a strong candidate to assume the presidency of the Confederation of African Football,” EFA member Ehab El-Komy told television channel Sada El-Baled.
“Hany Abo Rida is a great value in football, and whoever wants anything from Infantino should go first to Abo Rida. He is capable of leading the African Union in the coming years,” he added.
Motsepe, who replaced banned former president Ahmad Ahmad, assumed office without competition in 2021 after FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s intervention reportedly led to the withdrawal of other candidates, including Augustin Senghor of Senegal, Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania, and Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast.
In other news, Nigerian striker Victor Boniface has reacted to the decision of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, to omit him from the 2024 CAF Player of the Year shortlist.
Boniface, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, was one of the notable absentees from the list released on Thursday.
He has been left out despite an outstanding season with the German side, who won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal last season.
Boniface and his teammates were also runners-up in the Europa League.
In total, Boniface scored 21 goals and provided 10 assists in 34 matches.
His performances earned him the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award and a spot in the Team of the Season.
In response to his omission, Boniface took to social media on X on Thursday, saying: “Rookie of the Season. Team of the Season. No worries. I no play AFCON. Na why I dey wait for Memes d’Or.”
