The President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has backed the re-election of Issa Hayatou as the president of the Confederation of African Football.
Zuma stated this when Hayatou paid him a courtesy visit in Pretoria.
The CAF President expressed gratitude to the South African authorities for the decisive support given to the development of African football over the past 20 years, notably the willingness and availability to host CAF competitions and consenting to the enormous sacrifices that comes with hosting such event.
President Zuma welcomed the tangible progress made in football on the continent, adding that he particularly follows the improvement in the quality of the teams and the level of play.
To this effect, he remarked that he hopes to see at least one African team in the semi-finals of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018.
He also took the opportunity to reiterate the commitment of his government and his personal commitment to the continued objective of his “brother” Hayatou in his mission of developing football in Africa.
He thus assured his guest of South Africa’s flawless support for his candidacy for a new term at the helm of the CAF.
South African Minister of Sport and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula; South African Football Association President, Danny Jordaan; and Mamelodi Sundowns President, Patrice Motsepe, were present at the meeting, which took place few hours to the kickoff of the Total CAF Super Cup 2016 between South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, winners of the CAF Champions League last year, and TP Mazembe of DR Congo, winners of the CAF Confederation Cup 2016.
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