The FIFA Secretary-General, Fatma Samoura has been appointed as “FIFA General Delegate for Africa” to man the football body for a six-month period.
The appointment will begin from 1 August 2019 to 31 January 2020, renewable with the agreement of both organisations.
Early this month, the French police reportedly arrested Ahmad Ahmad, the President of Confederation of African Football (CAF), in Paris over alleged corruption charge.
As a result, CAF Executive Committee met in Cairo on June 19, 2019, and sought FIFA’s expertise to assess the current situation in the African governing body and help to conclusively accelerate the implementation of the ongoing reform process destined to ensure that CAF functions with transparency, efficiency while abiding to the highest governance standards.
The Executive Committee unanimously approved the proposal of the President which included CAF and FIFA undertaking as soon as possible a full forensic audit of CAF as well as appointment FIFA executive member to oversee CAF’s functions.
Ms. Samoura will be assisted by a group of experts who will work in a spirit of partnership with President Ahmad and his team in several areas.
Among her functions are to oversee operational management of CAF, including governance and administrative procedures, to ensure the efficient and professional organisation of all CAF competitions and to support the growth and development of football in all countries and regions of CAF.
During this period, Fatma Samoura will stay Secretary-General of FIFA and will delegate her functions within the FIFA administration in accordance with the relevant internal regulations.
The Bureau of the FIFA Council has approved this exceptional and temporary measure.
FIFA and CAF will work closely together in order to best serve all African Member Associations to bring stability, serenity, professionalism and effective football development on the African continent where the passion for football is so prevalent.
