REPORTS making the rounds across the football world is that Fifa president Gianni Infantino has successfully brokered an agreement that two Confederation of African Football (Caf) president candidates – Augustin Senghor and Ahmad Yahya pull out of the 12 March race and rally behind Patrice Motsepe’s election.
Infantino, according to SunSport’s sources, said they should support the Mamelodi Sundowns president’s campaign in exchange for being guaranteed executive positions in his cabinet as Caf’s first and second vice-presidents.
Senghor, who is the FA president of Senegal and Yahya who is Mauritania’s FA president, were vying to become Caf president along with Motsepe and Ivory Coast experienced administrator and former Fifa executive member, Jacques Anouma.
With this deal allegedly brokered, this means Motsepe will vie for the elections next week, 12 March in Rabat, Morocco with only Anouma left in the election race. However, news reaching SunSport is that Anouma has asked to be Special Advisor if he were to pull out of the race.
This will make Motsepe voted unanimously as Caf president on 12 March.
“Infantino brokered the deal and asked them to support Motsepe for next week’s Caf presidential elections,” said an insider.
Motsepe is now favourite to clinch Africa’s highest football after he released his impressive manifesto last Thursday, which was well received among some of the continent’s FA presidents.
The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has 14-members and the biggest region in Africa will vote as a bloc for the Mamelodi Sundowns owner, while Motsepe has also received support mostly in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana.
Infantino showed his support for Motsepe when he attended the Cosafa annual assembly in Joburg last week, saying the region must do the right thing by voting for Motsepe.
Infantino, after meeting President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, went on to visit Mauritania‚ Senegal‚ the Central African Republic and Rwanda.
In Senegal and Mauritania, he asked both Senghor and Yahya to withdraw from running in the Caf presidential elections and support Motsepe.
Anouma, one of the most powerful men in Africa, was previously accused of allegedly taking bribes related to Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid process along with former Caf president Issa Hayatou.
They were alleged in 2011 to have been paid R22.5 million by the Qatari government.
