CAF president Patrice Motsepe was re-elected unopposed for a second four-year term after an overwhelming vote of confidence from the African football family.
Motsepe has been credited with transforming CAF since his election on March 12, 2021 and his record was so good that few dared to oppose him.
Those who tried later withdrew after learning that they were going into a losing battle as Motsepe had the majority on his side after the positives witnessed under his four-year rule.
Having secured another mandate, the South African billionaire now has a big job on his hands which is to complete what he has been on and even beat some of the records set so far.
Afrik-Foot highlights the top five challenges that await the CAF president in his second term.
Sustaining growth
Under Motsepe, CAF released healthy financial figures for the 2022/23 financial year with losses reducing from R507 million to R162 million in the previous year with projections of a net profit of R205 million in the coming financial year.
That is where the headache is as Motsepe has to use his business acumen to ensure that CAF now turns into a profit-making organisation after years of making losses.
There is now renewed confidence among sponsors and broadcasters and it will be up to Motsepe to convince them that their money is safe in CAF as that is the only way profits will come.
Clubs and nations have also seen an increase in prize money and Motsepe will be under pressure to maintain this going forward.
Will AFCON 2025 surpass 2023?
Under Motsepe, CAF organised the best-ever AFCON in 2023 in Ivory Coast, setting a new viewership record of over two billion viewers worldwide, making it the most-watched in its over 60-year history, while it generated $80 million in profit, the highest ever.
It cannot go down in Morocco in December 2025 and January 2026 as that would bring doubts into the leadership of Motsepe.
The CAF boss has to therefore ensure that the goodwill is still there and the interest increases to attract more eyes, which means increased sponsorship and broadcasting revenue to beat the record of AFCON 2023.
Will CAF cope with congested calendar?
CAF, just like every other confederation, is struggling with the tight calendar but unlike the others, Africa appears to be the most affected.
This is because CAF has found itself postponing its competitions to accommodate FIFA while the other continents seem to move on well even with the tight schedule.
AFCON 2025 was moved to December because of the FIFA Club World Cup, set to take place in June and July, the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is yet to be played, having been postponed due to a lack of a suitable date, while 2024 African Nations Championships was moved from February to August 2025 because some nations had reservations about the initial date affecting their leagues.
Already, some regional associations like CECAFA are ‘dead’ because they have not found suitable dates to host any tournament given the mother body is also struggling with the same.
This is unlikely to change soon but it is a headache Motsepe must deal with.
Dealing with dissenting voices
While Motsepe’s first term has witnessed less bickering and infighting, there are some dissenting voices that have been threatening the peace.
One of them is Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o, the president of FECAFOOT, who had expressed interest in challenging him, before vying for a lesser seat on the CAF Executive.
However, he was barred due to a ban he was serving for “seriously violating the principles of ethics, integrity and sportsmanship” when he became a brand ambassador for a betting organisation.
Eto’o sought redress at the Court of Arbitration for Sports and his appeal was successful, allowing him to contest, and he was elected unopposed on the Executive Committee. Given his controversial nature, he will be a thorn in the flesh for Motsepe and the rest.
Will stadia pledge be met?
Upon his re-election, Motsepe pledged to work with private financiers to help federations build national stadiums in countries where government support is limited.
With 12 of the 54-member associations not able to host international matches on home soil, Motsepe is keen to ensure this is a thing of the past by using his influence and connections to help these countries build stadiums that meet international standards.
It is a big task but he has backed himself to accomplish it. Motsepe will be judged after four years on whether this promise was kept.
