CAF president Ahmad Ahmad arrested in France
Confederation of African Football president Ahmad Ahmad faces a challenging task of cleaning his image after French authorities pounced on him to question and detain him on Thursday morning.
World governing body FIFA confirmed Ahmad had been detained but said it was “unaware of the details surrounding his investigation and is therefore not in a position to make any comment on it specifically.”
“FIFA has taken note of the alleged events concerning Ahmad who is being questioned by the French authorities in relation to his mandate while president of CAF,” the soccer body said in a statement.
Details surrounding Ahmad’s arrest remain sketchy, but it is claimed the 59-year-old is held in connection with a “contract unilaterally broken by CAF with the German equipment manufacturer Puma to engage with the company Technical Steel, based in La Seyne-sur-Mer.”
Ahmad is said to have signed off on a deal, which benefited the company Technical Steel, with one of the company’s bosses said to have paid an estimated Sh80 million to the CAF president in order to get the deal sanctioned.
It is believed the case involving Ahmad will be heard by the services of the central office for the first against corruption and financial fiscal offenses (OCLIF).
Ahmad’s tenure at the helm of African football now appears bleak, considering the integrity measures that await him.