Ahmad is a Malagasy football director. He became a politician after being both a football player and a coach at his younger age. Since February 2003, he has been serving as the Malagasy Football Federation president and currently vying for a top position in Caf. He won the March 2017 elections and became the president after defeating Issa Hayatou, who had served the office for 29 years.
The next CAF elections are scheduled for March 2021. At first, Ahmed was reluctant about contesting for a second time. However, currently, he is ready for a pre-election. It was later when no one anticipated that he announced he was still in the game. Ahmad is confident that with support from the 46 Football Federations, he will become victorious.
“I accepted to be a candidate while listening to the presidents of the federation, around 46 of whom asked me after receiving my assessment of my initial mandate,” Ahmad told BBC Sport Africa.
Ahmad also stated that he decided to vie a second time because he felt the need to.
“As I have previously announced, I said I would pursue a second mandate if there is a need.”
Ahmad has gained support from many since he first joined the office. Since then, his supporters have been rooting for his success.
Rivals
Amaju Pinnick, the Nigerian Football Federation chair, is also contesting for the top seat in Caf. Amaju is a potential candidate who qualifies for the full heart, hence a very close competitor of Ahmad. Pinnick, a former vice president of Caf, announced last month that he thought about his chances of winning before he came out. Although he competes against Ahmad, he knows the lad has almost infinite possibilities of losing.
Amr Fahmy, the former secretary-general of the football organization (Caf), was also contesting for the top position before realizing he was sick with cancer.
The Elections
The Confederation of African Football had scheduled its presidential elections in March 2021 in Rabat, Morocco. In preparation for the polls, the football confederation instructed all viable participants to submit their canvassing between September 11th and November 12th.
Come January 2021; Caf will release potential candidates’ names to the national associations who will then vote in March.
Controversies
Ahmad was the seventh president of Caf. He got into power to modernize the confederation and make it transparent. Nonetheless, amid Ahmad’s reign, critics have accused the organization of mismanaging about $20 million. This report was per the information that leaked in February. Ahmad is under investigation for embezzlement of funds, which were meant for buying sportswear equipment for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Though Ahmad is a person of interest in the confederation’s very many controversies, he needs up to 28 votes to win. He can win as long as over 40 national football federations are supporting him. Though he is competing against powerful rivals, he is sure about his victory.
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