After 29 unprecedented years as Africa’s football supremo, Issa Hayatou’s iron grip as CAF president came to a dramatic end in Ethiopia. But will the ascension of Ahmad open the needed chapter of reform and good governance in the continent, which many are demanding? Osasu Obayiuwana witnessed the dramatic election in Addis Ababa.

Nigeria is currently at a sporting low point caused by a lack of governance and sports strategy. Implementing better governance standards and increasing focus on grassroots and school sports could help the nation reach its potential.

With the signing of a large, but undisclosed, sponsorship deal and the prospect of Issa Hayatou’s continuous reign, the governance of African football remains in the deep, dark night. Osasu Obayiuwana reports.

The woeful state of governance across four of the six FIFA confederations was exposed in a fascinating evening session discussing also what the role of the confederations should take in world football.

Through his organisation Foot Solidaire, Jean-Claude Mbvoumin has dedicated more than 14 years of his life to the fight against illegal trafficking of young African footballers. It is a fight that is far from over – and one that FIFA recently brought to light through the sanctioning of FC Barcelona and the club’s exploitation of young players.

In Portugal, the local municipality of Leiria is paying 5,000 Euro per day in maintenance costs for a stadium that is now closed. And a further eight percent of the annual local municipality budget is spent repaying the mortgage of the stadium that was built for the European championships in football in 2004.

Some of the members elected to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee, last weekend in Morocco, “hardly indicates that intellect, integrity and an unblemished reputation are qualities needed for earning a place in it,” says Osasu Obayiuwana, in his commentary on the CAF General Assembly, where Issa Hayatou secured an unprecedented 7th four-year term as president.

In this second article about match-fixing in Africa, Osasu Obayiuwana focuses on South African football and gives a report on the many previous cases that the country has seen, some of which have been orchestrated by Wilson Raj Perumal, who was also behind a series of match-fixing cases in Zimbabwe.