South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe elected CAF President

South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe has been elected president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Motsepe succeeds disgraced Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad, who is serving a two-year FIFA ban over "governance issues", and will require his vast array of business skills to fix the organisation.

A plan brokered by FIFA puts Motsepe in charge with Senegalese Augustin Senghor and Mauritanian Ahmed Yahya becoming vice-presidents and Anouma a special advisor.

Motsepe will be the first South African to lead CAF, following in the footsteps of two Egyptians, a Sudanese, an Ethiopian, a Cameroonian and a Malagasy.

Unlike previous African football leaders, who came from national association backgrounds, his connection with the sport stems from owning record 2016 African champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

Until a recent rule change, the supporter of Spanish giants Barcelona would not have been eligible to become president as candidates had to be CAF executive committee members.

The 59-year-old began his working life as a lawyer, switched to mining, and is now involved in many businesses. Forbes magazine estimates his personal wealth at $2.9 billion (2.4 billion euros).