By 
South African Premier Division club, Mamelodi Sundowns President Patrice Motsepe is on the verge of becoming the next Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) president following the decision by three of the contestants to withdraw from the African Confederation’s top seat.
In a meeting held in Mauritania during the finals of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations, FIFA president Giannini Infantino backed Motsepe for the CAF presidential bid, a decision that ‘might have’ forced three contestants to pull out of the contest.
Mauritania’s FA president Ahmed Yahya, Senegalese FA president Augustine Senghor and Jacques Anouma from Ivory Coast were the other candidates that pulled out of the race.
This also comes at a time when incumbent president Ahmad Ahmad’s FIFA ban has been reduced to two years and a fine of 50.000 Swiss Francs for violating the FIFA ethics and codes of conduct, which means he remains blocked from the race.
Initially, the ban was five years and 200.000 Swiss Francs, but it was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after an appeal that had brought him back into office in early January 2021 making him eligible to contest for the CAF presidential seat.
During that moment when Ahmad was out of office FIFA council member, and Congolese Football Administrator, Constant Omari took charge of the office for a period of 68 days before Ahmed’s return.
Patrice Motsepe now remains alone in the race to the CAF presidential seat for the elections which are due on the 12th March in Rabat, Morocco.
Should Motsepe be dully confirmed as CAF president, he will become the first South African to be CAF President.
Here’s a summarised list of CAF Presidents
| Presidency | Name | Took office | Left office | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem | 1957 | 1958 |  Egypt |
|
| 2 | Abdel Aziz Moustafa | 1958 | 1968† |  Egypt |
|
| 3 | Abdel Halim Muhammad | 1968 | 1972† |  Sudan |
|
| 4 | Yidnekatchew Tessema | 1972 | 18 August 1987† |  Ethiopia |
|
| 5 | Abdel Halim Muhammad | 18 August 1987 | 10 March 1988‡ |  Sudan |
|
| 6 | Issa Hayatou | 10 March 1988 | 16 March 2017 |  Cameroon |
|
| 7 | Ahmad Ahmad | 16 March 2017 | 23 November 2020 |  Madagascar |
|
| Acting | Constant Omari | 23 November 2020 | 29 January 2021 |  The Democratic Republic of the Congo |
|
| 7 | Ahmad Ahmad | 29 January 2021[2] | Incumbent | Madagascar |
[…] CAF’s General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco where Motsepe emerged unopposed after three of his Competitors decided to withdraw from the African Confederation’s top seat a few days […]