A seat on the FIFA Council is a possibility for South Africa Football Association (SAFA) President, Danny Jordaan who emerged victorious in a legal case that saw the exit of one of his revered opponents.
Jordaan’s attempts at getting elected to a key official position at international level – COSAFA President, CAF Council and FIFA Council – have fallen short in the past but was finally endorsed by the regional body, to contest for a FIFA Executive position.
Campaigning for a seat in the Open category, the South African was initially up against Egypt Football Association President Hany Abo Rida, Guinea’s Almamy Kabele Camara, and Chabur Goc of South Sudan.
Abo Rida has been a FIFA Executive Committee member since 2009 when he entered in the Arabic-speaking category but competition from Tarek Bouchamoui of Tunisia – who was also on the FIFA Council following a landslide election – forced the Egyptian to re-strategize and vie for a position in the Open category.
But Jordaan legally contested the initial approval on grounds that CAF allowing Abo Rida to change categories was against the rules mandating the Confederation to go back on its decision and give Abo Rida no option, but to only run for election in the Arabic-speaking category.
The other contestant in the Open category is Lydia Nsekera of Burundi who is vying for the default female position – one of the three vacancies of which hers is a reserved spot for a female candidate.
Voting is scheduled for March 16, 2017, at the CAF Congress in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to decide who gets on the FIFA Council. The selection will decide a single representative for English, French, and combined Arabic/Portuguese/Spanish speaking groups, with a seat automatically reserved for a female candidate from each.
Open category will reserve a seat for a female contestant and two for Open contest – one of which Jordaan is vying for – and now his hopes are further raised by the fact that also South Sudan’s Goc was disqualified following a suspension by his own country’s football federation last year, on alleged embezzlement charges which he has already denied.
CAF, however, intends to change the categories to just the three different language groups by doing away with the Open category after elections and have two representatives for each.
Africa has seven spots on the new and improved FIFA Council with the CAF President and FIFA Vice President automatically members including a female member whose seat is also automatically reserved.
The FIFA Council comprises of 37 members with each serving a four-year term who are voted for by their respective continental confederations.
Featured photo: SUNDAY TIMES
