Planned CAF change could extend Hayatou rule
Feb 11, 2015
A proposed African Football Confederation (CAF) rule change would allow president Issa Hayatou to extend his rule into a third decade, a senior official said in Malabo Monday.
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea - A proposed African Football Confederation (CAF) rule change would allow president Issa Hayatou to extend his rule into a third decade, a senior official said in Malabo Monday.
The Cameroonian was voted into the most senior African football position 27 years ago and the couple of officials who have tried to unseat him failed miserably at the ballot box.
But a CAF rule preventing officials serving beyond 70 would have blocked Hayatou, now 68, seeking an eighth four-year term in 2017.
However, CAF executive member Kwesi Nyantakyi from Ghana told reporters in Malabo that CAF plan to fall in line with world governing body FIFA and scrap age limits for officials.
"FIFA does not have any age limit for committee members so CAF wants to bring their rules in line with them," said Nyantakyi.
The official was speaking a day after the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final in Equatorial Guinea, which Ivory Coast won on penalties against Ghana.
A proposal to allow officials of any age to serve on CAF committees will be voted on at an April 7-8 congress in Cairo.
It is expected to be passed, allowing Hayatou to stand for a further four-year term from 2017.
Several years ago Algeria successfully proposed another change affecting the CAF presidency -- restricting candidacy to executive members with voting powers.
The change stopped non-voting executive Jacques Anouma from Ivory Coast challenging Hayatou two years ago.
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