Madagascar’s
football chief Ahmad Ahmad was elected president of the Confederation of
African Football Thursday, ousting veteran leader Issa Hayatou after 29 years
in office.
Ahmad
won the election in the Ethiopian capital by 34 votes to Hayatou’s 20, official
results showed. Delegates cheered and pumped their fists in the plenary hall
after the result was announced.
Ahmad,
a 57-year-old father of two, had a discreet playing and coaching career before
he took the reins of the Madagascar football federation in 2003.
His
rare and determined bid for “change” as the head of the CAF this year took many
by surprise, and the incumbent was seen as the favourite.
“When you try to do something, you mean
that you can do it,” Ahmad told reporters after the vote. “If I can’t do it, I
never stand.”
Hayatou headed CAF since 1988 and is a
senior vice president of FIFA. He has been credited with increasing the number
of African teams at the World Cup and bringing in extra finance for the
continent’s competitions.
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