Motsepe was re-elected as African football’s leader

Patrice Motsepe, the South African mining magnate, was re-elected unopposed as president of the Confederation of African Football during the organization’s congress held in Cairo on Wednesday. Meanwhile, four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o secured a position on the executive committee.

The 63-year-old Motsepe, whose family trust owns one of the continent’s largest clubs, Mamelodi Sundowns, will embark on a second four-year term after being first elected in 2021, a candidacy that was also unopposed and strongly supported by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Eto’o, the president of the Cameroon Football Federation, was elected unopposed as a representative for the central African region on the executive committee, just days after successfully winning an appeal to stand for the position.

In January, he faced exclusion from CAF’s governance committee, but he appealed his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ultimately ruled in his favor.

Former World Cup footballer Eto’o received two bans last year.

In September, FIFA imposed a six-month ban on him from attending the national team’s matches due to a violation of disciplinary regulations, following allegations of verbally abusing match officials during the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.

Earlier in the year, CAF imposed a ban on Eto’o following an investigation into alleged violations of its ethical and integrity standards related to his position as an ambassador for a betting company. The ban and the $200,000 fine were subsequently overturned on appeal.

Five others were elected unopposed, with Mustapha Ishola Raji of Liberia keeping his seat for another four years. Bestine Kazadi Ditabala, the female representative from the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with Wallace Karia from Tanzania, Kurt Simeon-Okraku from Ghana, and Sadi Walid from Algeria, are newcomers to the committee.