How this decision was made?
FIFA will take over of African football because of the corruption scandals consuming the Confederation of African Football.
“The rule of the temporary FIFA High Commissioner for Africa would be to conduct a root-to-branch review of the governance of the confederation, oversee the operational management of the organization, and recommend where needed a series of reform efforts, and ensure that CAF is better equipped to face future challenges and to grasp future opportunities,” FIFA said in setting up the arrangement.
Finances may have played a part in getting a resolution. FIFA distributes millions of dollars to the confederations and suspended payments to CAF.
No one from the groups did not officially comment on the matter.
The crisis in CAF started in April at the meeting where Ahmad fired its secretary Amr Fahmy during a meeting. After that internal documents were leaked which suggested financial mismanagement on a major scale.
The CAF executive committee decided to cede control and have FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura step in as “FIFA General Delegate for Africa.”
Samoura will take over CAF from August until January.
Why did they choose Fatma Samoura?
Ahmad, subject of an ethics investigation by FIFA after allegations, proposed the idea to colleagues. And making Fatma Samoura a “FIFA General Delegate for Africa” was approved without dissent.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and CAF vice president Amaju Pinnick were the ones behind a plan to send Fatma Samoura to Africa. The decision was made because of Ahmad’s brief detention by French police for questioning corruption allegations. Ahmad was forced to accept the deal and then propose it to his colleagues.
How they will make new changes work?
Samoura will be assisted by experts in a bid to oversee the management of CAF, including governance and administrative procedures. In all African countries, she would attempt to improve the professionalism of the organization and support growth and development.
Ahmad was elected CAF president two years ago, and now he has become a major embarrassment to Infantino, who claimed that FIFA is clean and corruption-free.
This is not the only incident regarding African football. CAF general secretary was fired for blowing the whistle, but also a walk in the CAF Champions League final and the alleged assault on a referee by another CAF’s vice president.
The crisis that occurred in 2015 threatened FIFA’s existence and it played a role in its decision to step in. Crimes were uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Infantino was left with his inner circle to think about the consequences of not doing anything about potential problems at CAF.
