Rabat (AFP)

The South African Patrice Motsepe was elected as expected, and by acclamation, president of the African Football Confederation, Friday in Rabat, where he was the only candidate, the others having lined up behind him under the leadership of Fifa .

Plebiscite.

The businessman, boss of the Mamelodi Sundowns club, stood up, lowered his mask, and greeted the assembly, in a petrol blue suit.

"When there is only one candidate, he is elected by acclamation," said CAF secretary general Abdelmounaïm Bah, who was responsible for this polling day and the 43rd general assembly of the confederation.

Motsepe briefly expressed his "gratitude" for this "very great honor".

He spoke of "the challenges facing African football" and promised to rely on "collective wisdom" to work "in unity".

It was the watchword of the day, also hammered out by the president of the International Football Federation, Gianni Infantino.

Because the choice of this very busy billionaire, unknown and sponsored by the boss of Fifa, is cringe on the continent.

Many observers detect interference and hints of colonialism.

But no dissonant voice was expressed during this 43rd CAF General Assembly.

In his keynote address, Infantino defended Fifa's version of this strange election: she does not want to control CAF but to promote "unity".

- "sterile" controversies -

"It is important to put together these two words: unity and team. As a team we win, only we lose, football is a team sport", he pleaded, in a speech in French and then in English. .

The three other candidates declared in the fall, Augustin Senghor (Senegal), Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania) and Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast) all withdrew in the fortnight preceding the ballot, against the promise of posts of first and respectively. second vice-presidents and advisor to Motsepe.

"You all had the same vision, today is the celebration of this unity", insisted Infantino.

The host of the GA, the president of the Moroccan Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, also wanted to "clarify once and for all that the fate of our football is in our hands, we the presidents of federations", and therefore not those of Fifa.

"All the controversies around the relationship with Fifa are sterile," he added.

"The diagnosis is shared, we have not found a problem to converge the programs of the four candidates. We must stop these deviations which slow down our dynamic, and move towards this union, in close and intelligent support with the parent company, which is Fifa ".

Now an immense task awaits the owner of Mamelodi Sundowns, the club in the township of Pretoria, which he will hand over to his son Thlopie.

Because Lekjaa, also chairman of the finance committee, recalled the financial difficulties of the institution, which "settled into a deficit of around 10 million" dollars.

It is $ 11.4 million for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Bah said.

CAF "is in the process of + eating + its capital, its own funds", he warned, speaking of "structural deficit".

CAF has 70 M USD of equity.

"If we continue in this logic, we will have something to function during this mandate, but it will be the impasse for the next one", warned the N.1 of the finances of CAF.

This will be Motsepe's first mission.

© 2021 AFP