In
a show of his growing popularity and pedigree among his colleagues in African
football administration, Lamin Kabba Bajo, president of the Gambia Football
Federation, has been appointed into the CAF Reforms Committee.
CAF
president Ahmad made the announcement during his speech at the opening of the
CAF Extraordinary General Assembly in Manama, Bahrain, on Monday.
The
Committee is responsible for the organisation of the grand symposium to look at
the vision and mission of CAF to help crave the new path for the overall
football development in Africa.
“The
reform of the administration is a very important point - everyone must know
what is happening,” said Ahmad. “First we must review the standards of
management so that we can apply the reforms.”
Mr
Ahmad said Africa needs a focus and positive approach in addressing its
development programmes and challenges with clear vision and real commitment. In
that regard, he announced a new allocation of US$100,000 for member
associations and such financial assistance, he added, will be dispatched as
soon as possible to help the national associations in their programmes.
Ahmad,
who goes by a single name, affirmed that he values good governance and
transparency as the hallmark of his administration.
He
said there is much work to be done - in lots of areas - to make CAF work as it
should.
“I’m
sorry to tell you when I was part of the CAF Executive Committee there was no
separation of powers - the judicial body, the executive one and the congress -
and we have to respect the independence of each body,” he continued.
“There
is a big tendency to monopolise power in the executive committee. It has to be
reviewed and reformed with new statutes for CAF so that everyone can
concentrate on their proper tasks.”
Ahmad
also voiced concerns about the popularity of their flagship Africa Cup of
Nations tournament, saying it’s in danger of being overshadowed by the African
Nations Championship (CHAN) which is for locally based players. He says in
light of these concerns, there will also be a full review of all the CAF
competitions, and as such, a symposium will be organised to discuss the future
of the events.
“The
symposium will be made up of representatives from all parts of African football
so we can discuss what we are going to do in all the competitions - AFCON
[Africa Cup of Nations], CHAN, the youth tournaments and the women’s events,”
he explained.
Ahmad
said he was particularly keen to address issues such as dwindling numbers of
spectators at recent tournaments, and players increasingly finding themselves
in compromised situations with their clubs during Nations Cups.
“We
need to take into account their situation. We must ensure that the Nations Cup
doesn’t destroy their careers,” he insisted.
“So
we are going to review all of that and we will take a decision that suits
everyone so that this competition is valued again and attracts more resources
and bigger audiences in Africa.”
Ahmad
also spoke about giving more power to the presidents of the individual
federations, describing them as the “Sovereign Body” - who “have to make the
big decisions for the confederation.”
Elsewhere,
in the election of CAF members within the FIFA Council for the period of 2017
to 2022, Mr Hani Abo Rida of Egypt defeated Zelkifli R. Ngoufonsa of Cameroon
by 50 votes to 4.
