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Noel Munzabwa in Manzini, Swaziland
NEW Caf president Ahmad has announced a $100 000 annual grant for football associations on the continent.
The former Madagascar FA boss had promised to provide national federations with annual grants, which is a first in the history of Caf, during his pre-election campaign.
“To me, consolidating the administration is the first concern. Starting this year, we will put in measures which will ensure good governance and then we will move onto the issues of financial transparency and redistribution of resources,” said Ahmad during his first visit to the Caf headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, as president to meet the secretariat.
“Starting this year, Caf will allocate $100 000 to each federation per year. We think that the federations deserve to benefit from this financial resource because Caf supports itself, thanks to sponsors,” he said.
Ahmad said he would ensure federations got financial support during his tenure, but emphasised the need for accountability and transparency.
Ahmad ended Cameroonian Issa Hayatou’s 29-year stranglehold on African football earlier this month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by garnering 34 votes against Hayatou’s 20.
Ahmad is also considering revising the terms of a commercial contract with Lagardere Sports that stirred controversy over the past few months, according to Moroccan news agency MENA.
In 2015, Caf renewed a contract with Lagardere Sports until 2028 granting them the marketing and TV rights for African competitions for $1 billion.
Egypt’s competition authority filed a case to the prosecutor-general against Hayatou and former secretary-general Hicham El-Amrani, saying the deal violated the country’s anti-monopoly regulations. Caf has repeatedly denied these claims.
Sources inside told MENA that Ahmad and his executive committee were thinking of revising the exclusive deal with Lagardere to end conflict with Egyptian laws.
The Egyptian Economic Court is set to deliver its verdict on the case on Sunday.
@NoelMunzabwa
Online Reporter