Patrice Motsepe: Caf president aims to continue ‘good progress’ in potential second term

Motsepe’s team say they started their tenure on the back foot financially, inheriting a deficit of between $40-50m (£30.8-38.5m).

The administration was further burdened by having to pay a $50m (£38.5m) settlement fee to French media company Lagardere after Ahmad’s regime cancelled the biggest broadcast deal in African football history in 2019.

Last week, Caf announced its deficit had fallen to just under $10m (£7.7m) in the 2022-23 financial year – a period when the African football body paid the first of two $25m (£19.25m) tranches to Lagardere.

Even though the organisation’s 2023-24 financial year, which runs from July to June, included the second payment of $25m, it is expected to further improve Caf’s accounts.

The Cairo-based organisation made a $72m (£55.5m) profit from this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) – a sum 18 times bigger than that generated by the previous edition in 2022.

Much of the growth stems from improved relations with sponsors and broadcasters.

“The most important thing is to give confidence to the sponsors, partners and people that put money into football,” said Motsepe, adding that investors need to feel that “they benefit from being associated with African football – and that [African football] has got ethics”.

The South African also hinted that Caf’s commercial partners influenced his decision to run for a second term.

“I said to the sponsors: ‘We’ve got a team, the team will take over’,” he explained.

“Many of them were very forthright, as were the member association and zonal union presidents, to say they remember the past where there was uncertainty and insecurity.”

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