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Kevin Musako
Sports Correspondent
SOUTH AFRICAN billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, has taken the football world by storm after announcing his bid to run for the presidency of the Confederation for African Football at the forthcoming elective general assembly in March, 2021.
The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations recently endorsed Motsepe’s CAF Presidency bid.
At a meeting of COSAFA executive committee on 27 January 2021, it was unanimously resolved that Motsepe was the only candidate endorsed by the 14-member regional body to run for the CAF presidency in March this year.
But many have questioned Motsepe’s pedigree and his knowledge of football.
Many say he is not a football man and is not the right man to lead CAF.
But CAF does not need a man of football at the moment.
It needs a man with business influence to make the organisation viable again.
The continental governing body are currently embroiled in many corruption scandals that have caused many to lose faith in their leadership. After a series of scandals from the current CAF leadership, it would represent a fresh start with Motsepe at the helm.
It seems the South African has the backing of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
It almost certainly looks like Africa’s first black billionaire is on course to lead one of the largest football Confederations in world football.
Many say Motsepe is out of his depth and doesn’t have the experience in football administration.
Motsepe is a man of great standing in the business world having invested in more than 31 countries in Africa.
He has repeatedly invested in companies that were supposed to gain significantly in value — and rose to become Africa’s first black billionaire.
He describes himself as a philanthropist, promoting his image.
He is also well connected in politics; South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is his brother-in-law.
Motsepe has the pedigree to transform CAF almost instantly.
It will take a long time to repair the image of CAF but if Motsepe is elected to the top of Africa, the image would be restored almost immediately because he comes to football with a clean slate.
Unlike his rivals in the CAF presidency race, Motsepe has no interest in money because he already has it.
His main goal will be to apply his investment skill in football just like he has in many top performing companies around the world.
Motsepe’s appointment could be an opportunity for the crisis-ridden CAF.
Incidents of corruption increased under the ex-president Ahmad Ahmad.
The Madagascan favoured himself and his friends, including buying cars at the confederation’s expense.
Some observers cautiously hope that a billionaire would have less compelling reasons to try and get rich using his position in the game.
As a man in business, he might also be most likely to be able to attract sponsors, which is no easy task because Ahmad has seriously damaged CAF’s image.
Motsepe would go into a minefield at the top of the CAF.
It is unclear why he is prepared to risk his previously good reputation as a businessman.
At least in public, the billionaire has not yet made a clear statement.
But one thing is certain, Motsepe is the right man to restore CAF’s battered image.
Kevin Musako is an African football Journalist based in the town of Kabwe, Zambia. He is a former Media Officer at Kabwe Warriors FC, a professional team that plays in the Zambian Super Division. He worked there for three years. He is also a freelance Photographer and Graphic designer. He is also a co-presenter of a Sports Show on Power FM local radio station in Kabwe — soka25east.com
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