Patrice Motsepe

2

The dazzle and the dark side: Taking the reins at CAF

Gianni Infantino was in Rabat when Patrice Motsepe arrived for the formal CAF presidential handover on 12 March 2021. The FIFA chief couldn't do much of the razzmatazz, however, as the crackle of concern about the election process had had to be stifled before it turned into a fire. Infantino needed to tread carefully around CAF's member associations to ensure himself a third term at the world governing body in 2023.

For the ten days before CAF's elective conference, things had been tense. Reports said the FIFA president had invited Yahya, Senghor and Anouma to meet with him and some advisors in Morocco on the last weekend of February 2021 in a first such gathering ahead of a presidential election.1 It was unprecedented to decide on a winner beforehand in that way.

Nonetheless, it was quickly understood that an agreement was reached there with Yahya and Senghor that Motsepe would take centre-stage. Anouma was, however, not on board - he described the process as 'not too democratic'.2

As the clock started to wind down, the candidates returned to their countries for consultations, expected to meet on the upcoming weekend in Nouakchott, Mauritania, to finalise the outcome. If Anouma continued to fight against it, it would be a two-horse race. But Anouma appeared to lack the unequivocal backing of enough football administrators, and politicians in his home country, and in the end he decided or was persuaded to stand down.

Visibly delighted, Infantino then announced the deal under which Motsepe would become president for a five-year term, at a conference on 7 March at the Palais des Congrès in Nouakchott, where the African under-20 football championships were being hosted by Yahya. Senghor would be Motsepe's first vice-president, Yahya the second vice-president, and Anouma a 'special advisor'.

Infantino said that 'the agreement obtained by the candidates [was] a strong signal for Africa', and that Motsepe would lead CAF with a 'common program' built from the campaign manifestos of all four.3 But the plan 'for uniting the disparate interests within the continent's football administration' was rapidly met with derision as 'a uniquely African one: section out more pie slices' - CAF would now have five vice-presidents, as opposed to the former allotment of three, which was rightly flagged as a minus for Motsepe.4

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When the formal CAF handover was done in Morocco, Motsepe instantly became one of the most powerful figures in the world's most popular sport. Importantly, the president of CAF automatically becomes a vice-president of FIFA, football's global governing body, and this role would immediately redefine the man who'd been a disruptor in South African football, business and philanthropy, and even looked to become one in South African politics.

The advent of television and marketing rights and the unprecedented global obsession with football had spurred FIFA's evolution from a tiny amateur operation in 1904 into a multibillion-dollar industry and the guardian of the game. Motsepe could potentially take the opportunity to run for office as its president in the future if he could navigate multiple political hurdles, and traps set by rivals who would need him to fail so that they could rise.

But first, using his network and his influence, Motsepe would be expected to at least double the revenue of CAF and begin to fix its reputation.

When Fouzi Lekjaa, the chairman of the CAF finance committee, had presented CAF's financial situation in January 2021, he'd noted that the reserves were healthier, although it was mooted that these could have been bulked up by a large sum from the FIFA Forward account.5

It was easier for Lekjaa to explain why there was more than R350 million missing in commercial income compared to the previous year. That was a result of the cancellation of a broadcasting and marketing agreement CAF had had with French media company Lagardère under Ahmad, who had made a 'deal to sell CAF's TV rights ... for $1 billion [more than R15 billion] over 12 years, a 10-fold increase on the previous deal'.6

The federation had been forced to cancel the contract, which had been set to run until 2028, after separate court judgments ruled there hadn't been a tender process. The cancellation happened around the same time as Ahmad was handed a five-year ban (reduced to two years on appeal) by FIFA after being found guilty of misusing finances for his own benefit.

A result of the cancellation of the Lagardère broadcasting agreement was a broadcasting blackout on Africa's biggest pay-TV channel, SuperSport. This was a huge problem. Africans hadn't been able to watch African football since November 2019, and ending that disaster was one of the most notable promises on Motsepe's CAF manifesto. It was something on which he'd have to move quickly. Without the big African football tournaments being broadcast continentally, African fans were turning more and more to European and English football, and millions upon millions of dollars in potential revenue for CAF were being lost to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) - and FIFA.7

Motsepe addressed the financial crunch at CAF as soon as he could, asking, 'Do we have to cut or must we invest? The way to get yourself out of trouble is not necessarily cutting until you can cut no more and get to the bone. The recognised strategy around the world is to grow. Look at the budget we have at CAF. You can't keep cutting and cutting. We will reorganise and reposition.' But, he warned, the significant benefits would 'take some time - they don't happen overnight.'8

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The so-called Moroccan protocol that saw Motsepe become president was quickly and warmly welcomed by, among others, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, when Kagame hosted the CAF executive committee meeting in May 2021 in Kigali. Infantino was also present.

Kagame heralded 'the new mindset that is supporting African football to achieve its aims' and said the new CAF leadership was 'a badge of honour for us'. 'The two brothers [Motsepe and Infantino] I am sitting with here, I have known for a long time, and our minds are synchronised on what to do for sport, for football. I have enjoyed working with them, and we are a family.'9

Controversial Zambian icon Kalusha Bwalya,10 president of his country's football association from 2008 to 2016 and the most successful player in its history, was another Motsepe supporter, pointing out that CAF needed 'visionary leadership with an emphasis on strong teamwork, and at this moment if anyone can do that, with the right people around him, it is Motsepe'.11

South African football legend Jomo Sono publicly applauded Motsepe, too, saying that 'you can see that he loves the game'. 'I think he will [perform] better than all former presidents. We just hope by the time his term ends [in 2026], he would have restructured African football. Look at what he's turned [his championship-winning South Africa football team] Mamelodi Sundowns into today. It's difficult to compete with Sundowns in South Africa, and even in Africa.'12

Accomplished international sports administrator South African lawyer Norman Arendse said there was 'much to admire' about the new CAF chief. 'He commands great respect and ticks all the boxes. His appointment is a masterstroke by SAFA and FIFA.'13

Those who were drawn to the dazzle of Motsepe taking the seat in Cairo described him as 'oozing class from every pore', 'a self-made man . close to power', 'a leader with impeccable credentials and . endless influence across the spectrum' and 'synonymous with success and wealth'.

The darker opinion, that there could be some sort of dual leadership between Motsepe and Infantino at CAF if Motsepe was 'indebted' and perhaps expected to 'repay [Infantino] at some point',14 wasn't held by most of those who'd dealt with Motsepe in business and football, and knew what CAF was getting: an unflinching straight-shooter. If Motsepe saw no point in pursuing something - a project, a conversation - he wouldn't give it his time. If he was angry, he showed it; and if he felt the need to celebrate, he had no qualms about doing that in public.

Motsepe had repeatedly shown he wasn't insecure about the expertise of people he chose for key positions, and that was part of a self-belief that some took for conceit. Yet no one would have been as hyper-aware of the steep learning curve represented by CAF than Motsepe himself. He was only going to have one chance to get it right.

There were two key perceptions at play about his new job. The first was that he could 'expect to have more freedom to implement whatever changes he [saw] fit' at CAF, as he was 'taking charge of the confederation at a difficult time in its history'.15 The other was that he would be a lackey of Infantino. That would likely be proved wrong, even if only in the longer term: Motsepe tends to wait to make what...