ZIFA boss Phillip Chiyangwa has helped engineer a shock in African football as Ahmad Ahmad became president of Confederation of African Football (CAF), beating Issa Hayatou who served for 29 years.
Ahmad, Madagascar’s football chief, was elected CAF president on Thursday. He won the election in the Ethiopian capital by 34 votes to Hayatou’s 20, official results showed.
Chiyangwa was campaign manager for the Ahmad, a role that saw him attract the wrath of the long-serving Hayatou.
“When you try to do something, you mean that you can do it,” Ahmad told reporters after the vote. “If I can’t do it, I never stand.”
Ahmad, a 57-year-old father of two, had a playing and coaching career before he took the reins of the Madagascar football federation in 2003.
His rare and determined bid for “change” at the head of the CAF this year took many by surprise and the incumbent was seen as the favourite.
Hayatou headed CAF since 1988 and is a senior vice president of FIFA. He has been credited with increasing the number of African teams at the World Cup and bringing in extra finance for the continent’s competitions.
