THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have expressed sadness at the death of Issa Hayatou while paying glowing tribute to the late football administrator.
Hayatou, who was CAF President for 29 years, passed away last night on the eve of his 78th birthday, having led the African confederation from 1988 to 2017.
“The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) President Dr Patrice Motsepe is saddened by the passing of former CAF President, Issa Hayatou,” the continental body said in a statement last night.
“President Issa Hayatou led CAF from 1988 to 2017 and passed on today.”
Current CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “I express my deepest personal condolences and the condolences of the 54 CAF Member Associations, on the passing of CAF former President, President Issa Hayatou; to his family, the Fédération Camerounaise de Football, its President Samuel Eto’o and the people of Cameroon.
“CAF and African football will forever be grateful to President Hayatou for his enormous and far-reaching contributions, over many years to the development and growth of football in Africa. He will forever live in our hearts and minds.”
In honour of Hayatou, Motsepe requested that the CAF flag and the flags of all CAF Member Associations fly at half-mast for a period of five days, until August 13.
In the same vein, the NFF said in a statement last night: “President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, has commiserated with the Cameroonian football fraternity and the African football family as a whole, following the death on Thursday of former President of Confederation of African Football, Alhaji Issa Hayatou.
“A former 400m and 800m champion of Cameroon, who served as President of CAF between 10th March 1988 – 16th March 2017, Hayatou died after a protracted illness in the French capital, Paris on the eve of his 78th birthday.”
Gusau praised Hayatou for his contributions to African football and described the Cameroonian as a ‘much-loved leader’.
“The NFF and the entire Nigeria football family are terribly saddened by the death of Alhaji Issa Hayatou. He was a great and much-loved leader of African football and did his best to leave African football greater than he met it,” Gusau said.
“Alhaji Hayatou was a man of strong character and integrity. We love him but God loves him more. We pray that Almighty Allah will grant him eternal rest and also grant the Cameroonian, nay African football family the fortitude to bear the loss.”
Hayatou, who served as Secretary of the Federation Cameroonaise de Football (FECAFOOT) in the 1970s, was elected CAF President during the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, to take office from interim boss, Dr Abdelhalim Mohamed, who had stepped in the previous year following the death of Dr. Ydnekatchew Tessema.
Hayatou was also a member of the International Olympic Committee, and served as Acting President of football’s world-ruling body FIFA for four months and 18 days (8th October 2015 – 26 February 2016) following the suspension of Sepp Blatter and prior to the election of Gianni Infantino.
After 29 years in office as CAF President, Hayatou lost the bid for a fresh term in an election won by Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar at an elective Congress in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on March 16, 2017.
