Africa: CAF Disbands Wafu Body

Daily Independent (Lagos)

17 May 2011

The West African Football Union (WAFU) has been disbanded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The decision was taken at its Executive Committee meeting in Cairo on Monday.

A CAF statement said the move was being made because of the organisational issues that face WAFU and that the region would be divided into two.

WAFU was being run by an interim committee, led by Ghana’s FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi, pending CAF’s review of the regional bodies.

WAFU former president, Amos Adamu, has appealed against a three-year ban from football for allegedly seeking bribes during 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding.

The WAFU Cup has just been completed in Abeokuta in Nigeria, where the hosts were beaten in the final by Togo.

The eight-team tournament had been hit by its own organisational problems – with three teams failing to show up.

The region was split into Zone A and Zone B.

Zone A has Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

In zone B are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

CAF on Monday during its Executive Committee also declared its support for FIFA President Sepp Blatter in his race to win re-election.

Blatter is being challenged by the head of the Asian confederation (AFC) Mohamed Bin Hammam in the campaign.

CAF does not have a vote, but the confederation’s view will carry weight with the continent’s 53 members.

Oceania, European and South American confederations have declared their support for Blatter.

The election will take place on 1 June, with representatives of each of FIFA’s 208 member associations taking part.

Blatter is the favourite to win and has warned that “the survival of FIFA is at stake.”

But following recent allegations of corruption, Bin Hammam has declared “it’s time for change” – although he has also said he does not believe FIFA is corrupt.

Bin Hammam, who is from 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, is Blatter’s first challenger since CAF president Issa Hayatou took him on, and lost by 139 votes to 56 in 2002.

At the same meeting, Suketu Patel of Seychelles and Almany Kabele Camara of Guinea were named as the new CAF vice-presidents.

They will take over from Togo’s Seyi Memene and Molefi Oliphant of South Africa, who are retiring.

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