Ahmad suspension could trigger wide probe
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday November 24, 2020 12:36
Ahmad was thrust into the hot seat in 2017, replacing long-serving Cameronian, Issa Hayatou, but has not lasted long after he was forced to take the walk of shame on Monday.
FIFA slapped the former Madagascar cabinet minister with a five-year suspension over accepting or offering gifts and abuse of office, among others.
It was a decision that shook the football world, although Ahmad has been under investigation since he was arrested in a Paris hotel last year.
But most had placed faith in the Malagasy, after his predecessor was accused of maladministration, and football was desperately looking for a Messiah.
However, it looks like a probe close to the magnitude of the investigations, which led to the fall of football’s strongman Sepp Blatter could be in the offing.
The big question is; who was with Ahmad at the dinner table?
Ahmad enjoyed the backing of COSAFA when he campaigned for the top post, with all the region’s football association backing him. This included the Botswana Football Association, which had already dumped Ahmad ahead of next March’s elections. BFA has since announced, it is backing South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe.
With Ahmad now suspended, Motsepe could gain significant advantage, but still face an onslaught from the west where the other three candidates are from.
Senegal’s Augustin Senghor, Jacques Anouma from Ivory Coast and Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania are the other contestants.