South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe elected CAF President

Patrice Motsepe   -  
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PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP or licensors

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).

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