Jacques Anouma wants to put things in their place.

The Ivorian candidate for the presidency of CAF affirms that the willingness given to Fifa to find a consensus around the South African Patrice Motsepe is only an "agreement in principle".

He also judges the method "not too democratic", in an interview with AFP on the evening of March 2. 

"It is an agreement in principle that has been found," said Jacques Anouma after a meeting during the weekend in Rabat of the three West African candidates, at the invitation of the president of the Moroccan federation, Fouzi Lekjaa. " Our countries must accept and validate it. We have given ourselves until March 5 for this agreement to be validated. "

According to him, the "minutes which were initialed" at the end of this meeting in Rabat "should not be known by anyone".

"I am shocked. We put more emphasis on a distribution of posts than an agreement to move towards unity. We have the impression that we have sacrificed Africa on the altar of our personal ambitions", s' wins Anouma, former member of the executive committee of the International Football Federation (Fifa).

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According to sources close to the candidates, Augustin Senghor (Senegal) and Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania) would be ready to accept Fifa's proposal: if they give up standing in the ballot scheduled for March 12 to leave the scene to the southern billionaire. African, supported by Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa, they will be 1st and 2nd vice-presidents.

Jacques Anouma would be offered a post of adviser to the president.

"I would not shirk my responsibilities"

For him, "we can come out of an agreement. If my voters, my base and the authorities tell me, that does not interest us, let's go to elections, I would not shirk my responsibilities".

And "if we do not agree, the only way to decide between us is the election, which is democratic," but "what is happening is not too democratic, we impose a pattern on the voters. says they are takers? "he asked.

According to an adviser to one of the candidates interviewed on Monday, "the idea of ​​Fifa is to bring together the four candidates, under the aegis of Morocco, so that they agree on a common program, and appoint among them only one candidate ".

"Motsepe has the preference of Fifa, who wants someone new, not involved in the old management, to attract new sponsors, investors and to give CAF a better image after all that has happened ", continues this source.

The African football government has indeed been shaken.

The outgoing president, the Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad, was suspended for five years by Fifa in November on suspicion of corruption.

"Motsepe has the worst profile of the four, it would only be a puppet", assures AFP Bacary Cissé, boss of the sports weekly Senegal Record.

"Fifa wants to parachute him on African football".

After the meeting in Rabat, each candidate returned to his country for consultations.

They must meet next weekend in Nouakchott during the CAN-U20 final, to make a choice before the election on March 12.

With AFP

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