South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe was elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) — vowing to unite the embattled organization.
“Africa needs collective wisdom, but also the exceptional talent and wisdom of every (national football association) president and every member nation,” he said. “When we all work together, football in Africa will experience success and growth that it has not enjoyed in the past.”
Motsepe was confirmed at the Confederation of African Football’s general assembly meeting. He automatically becomes a FIFA vice president and a member of the FIFA Council.
While the organization is not without its troubles, if anyone can turn thing’s around, it is Mosepe.
Motsepe is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals. He bought his first mine in 1994. A few years later, he started buying low-producing gold mines when the gold market was undergoing a slowdown and prices were low.
The savvy business became a billionaire in 2008 and made history the first Black African to make Forbes’s list of billionaires. He is also is the brother-in-law of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
CAF recorded a loss of more than $11 million in the financial year 2019-20, officials. “The new team (Motsepe and his leadership allies) needs to double or treble the revenue of CAF,” said Fouzi Lekjaa, the head of the CAF finance committee. “I don’t want to be alarmist but the figures … can’t be interpreted any other way.”
Still, Motsepe has high hopes for African football and is already eyeing a World Cup win.
“Our objective must be that one of the countries will win the World Cup,” he said. “I think it will happen soon. The talent is there.
“Continuous investment in youth and academies and making competitions globally competitive will be key. We do need the private sector to get involved with financial resources. The commitment to improve and continue to invest is there and the governance transparency is an excellent foundation.”
