We must set the bar higher for the next CAF President

In March this year, Morocco will host probably the most important CAF elective congress to pick the CAF President. This congress comes at a time when football is bleeding globally. FIFA has previously estimated that the game will lose over $15 billion over the next couple of years as a result of COVID disruptions. Additionally the COVID imposed halt to football activities has shone a spotlight on the game as a whole. Mass events and thus fans in the stadiums, for so long the lifeblood of the sport,  are not likely to return in any recognisable shape for another  18-24 month by the most ambitious estimates. The game has been forced into a rethink its strategies, its   fundamentals, revenue models as well as its overall operating models. CAF already battling to keep up with other regions in terms economic development of the game has perhaps the toughest task. It is for this reason that its choice for the man or woman that will lead it is the most important in its 64 year history.

What must African football look for from its next leader? In many ways, this question depends on who you ask. The CAF insiders will insist the game needs someone who understands African football and its politics. The clubs will hope for a man who will prioritize professional football. The players will hope that a man who will advance players’ welfare. Africa’s biggest population is made up of the youth and women in that order.  They too will be looking to someone who understand the importance of creating a football strategy that will advance the well being of is underserved and underrepresented youth and women. All these are genuine and well-reasoned expectations. This is what makes this job at this particular time so critical. There are 5 themes that I believe should be the focus on our collective call and expectation. 

Firstly, leadership that grounded on ethical, accountable and transparent values as well as strong adherence to governance. For far too long this office has tended to attract scandals and governance failures. It’s become a bit of black hole that hardly operates outside of the shadows of secrecy. Right now just finding a basic administrative annual report is like is an impossible task not to mention the financial reports on  the  state of CAF.  We must openly talk about how many programs and activities CAF embarked on and what was spent on those etc. We must state what our targets are and how we are doing against these. The constant association of corruption and mismanagement with CAF must be eliminated once and for all. Our reputation as a competent, independent, ethical and dependable leadership must be our priority a football community. 

Secondly, financial prudence and sound administration. It cannot be that an organisation that manages hundreds of millions of sponsors and broadcaster dollars on behalf of its member associations takes it responsibility to account so lightly. The current financial status and subsequent FIFA involvement is a source of embarrassment that Africans should never allow themselves to have to deal with again. No sponsor or broadcaster wants to partner with an organisation whose financial controls are unreliable.  Thirdly, commercial leadership. Here are some numbers. The biggest source of revenue for sport is broadcasting with football’s global value being approximately $20 billion, according to Sports Business. Sponsorship and commercial partnerships is about $10 billion.  FIFA estimates that $8 billion is spent in player transfers annually. Finally, matchday income is somewhere in the region of $5 billion per annum. So global football is big business. We do not know how much of this Africa gets, we do know its nowhere near our share of global share footballers which is 18% almost the same as Africa’s share of the global population. We know its nowhere near 3%, which is Africa’s share of global gross domestic product (GDP). This must be our minimum ambition. According to the FIFA transfer report Africa accounts for 16% of global transfers in volume but just 1% of its transfer value. With the vast majority of African media budget spent on European properties one wonders how much exactly is spent on Africa football. Africa needs men and women who understand these challenge and have a plan to claim a big share of this market for Africa. 

Fourthly,  building sustainable competitions. The national and club teams competitions are the revenue generators that fund football. Building globally competitive programs must be a priority. Africans must be more excited by CAF Champions league than they are with UEFA Champions League. Brands must want to invest in the local competitions than to promote overseas competitions on the African continent. Building strong local leagues will ensure we keep our players longer and sell them for better fees, if we so choose. Today, only 60% of the domestic league are sponsored according to for FIFA Club report.  The regional broadcasters must want to spend more on African competitions than they do now. This must be led by African football.

Finally, prioritize women’s football.  Perhaps the single biggest opportunity to kick start African football is to focus on building strong women’s programs. Just look around to see what women from Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon etc  are doing in top women’s clubs in Europe and imagine what that could be like if every country has a women’s league. It’s quite clear that though African football have severely underinvested in them,  they are punching well above their weight. The next leader must look to double up on the efforts to accelerate women’s football as that may grow the game as a whole and not just women’s. 

All of this may well just be an opinion that has no bearing on how Africa selects its next football leaders until all of us start demanding to hear what these leaders are bringing to the table. We know it a well sought after job because of what it brings with it but we must ask anyone who wants this job what are you bringing to the table. If what they say does not touch some of these issues then maybe not this time. I hope, this time and especially this time, Africa will vote wisely.