By Victor Kanayo
Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe, says the continent will throw its weight behind incumbent FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the latter seeks a third term in office at the 73rd FIFA Congresnext year.
Motsepe confirmed all 54 member associations of CAF have resolved to vote for Infantino, despite the fact that the identity of any potential challenger is not yet known.
With no opponent emerging yet, Infantino could stand unopposed again, as he did in 2019.
“We discussed at the executive committee meeting that in recognition of the huge contributions, commitment and the track record that you’ve built in terms of improving African football, all 54 member nations have taken a resolution to vote for you for re-election,” Motsepe told Infantino at the CAF General Assembly in Arusha on Wednesday.
Infantino was first elected FIFA President in February 2016 and has spent a lot of time in Africa, whose 54 nations are more than a quarter of FIFA’s 211 member associations and therefore make up a powerful voting bloc.
Motsepe has long been seen as an ally of Infantino and the two appeared together at the launch of a proposed African Super League for clubs that was also announced on Wednesday and is due to start in August 2023.
The 52-year-old Swiss-Italian took to the stage in Tanzania to thank Africa for its support and pledged his continuous backing to the game on the continent.
He then joined Motsepe for the launch of Africa’s new Super League, which is scheduled to start in the 2023-24 campaign.
Back in January, the FIFA boss came under severe criticism for comments referencing African migrants dying at sea when talking about the reforms to football’s calendar.
