FKF chief Nick Mwendwa coy on preferred choice in Caf polls
Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has remained tight lipped on his preferred candidate for the Confederation of African Football presidency.
Mr Mwendwa will, alongside 53 other Africa based Football Association’s presidents, on Thursday vote for the next president of the continental football body.
The polls will be held at the Caf General Assembly in Addis Ababa.
Incumbent Issa Hayatou, 70, is seeking to extend his three decade stay at the helm.
STIFF COMPETITION
The Cameroonian however faces a stiff competition from little known Madagascar FA president Ahmad Ahmad, who is 13 years younger .
“We will give our vote for the person who will best take care of Kenya’s interests. I can’t mention the name because the voting process is via secret ballot. But this is a decision that has been arrived at by the (local) football governing top brass,” Mr Mwendwa, 38, said on Wednesday, moments before departing for Addis Ababa.
It is worth noting however, that Mr Mwendwa abstained from voting for a crucial proposal during Caf’s Extraordinary Assembly in Cairo last October.
The proposal, brought forward by the Djibouti Football Association, sought to modify article 18.3 of Caf statues, which restricts potential candidates for the Caf presidency to the 15-man executive committee. It also sought to limit to three the number of four year terms, in which the one can contest for the Caf presidency.
BACKING HAYATOU
Despite Mwendwa’s silence, a number of regions have made public their stance. The 12-member Council of East and Central Africa Associations, to which Kenya is a part of, announced in a statement a fortnight back that they will be backing Mr Hayatou.
The 14-member Southern Africa bloc however say they are behind Ahmad.
Ahmad made a secret campaign visit to Nairobi in February, on the same day Fifa president Gianni Infantino toured Uganda on an “official” visit.
The Caf presidency is a powerful position, with the incumbent controlling football and political interests of more than 54 countries, and in charge of budgets of upto Sh30 billion annually, amounts that are mainly drawn from sponsorship deals.
