Caf on track to break even after ‘toxic’ past

The Confederation of African Football will be debt free next year as a result of improved governance since Patrice Motsepe became president of a “toxic” body in 2021, says its secretary general Veron Mosengo-Omba.

Installed as deputy just days after the South African billionaire was appointed president, Mosengo-Omba says Caf’s level of debt when the pair took over was about $40m (£31m).

He says this figure has more than halved since, with the tally set to drop even further when Caf’s financial accounts are presented later this year.

“I think we will present a [deficit] figure to the Caf congress of less than $12m (£9.3m),” Mosengo-Omba told BBC Sport Africa.

“For the next fiscal year, [the debt] will be zero.”

The Caf financial year runs from the start of July to the end of June, with accounts traditionally presented to congress in October, meaning the organisation could be debt-free in just under 12 months’ time.

Mosengo-Omba, who hails from DR Congo but who also holds Swiss nationality, says that credit for the turnaround must go to his 62-year-old boss.

“Motsepe and his executive coming in was, for me, a gift for African football,” said the lawyer, who worked as Fifa’s chief member associations officer before joining Cairo-based Caf.

“In 2021, Caf was a toxic company – nobody trusted Caf. When Motsepe came, he put the principle of good governance and integrity in all levels of the organisation.

“This brings confidence to our partners.”

One of Africa’s richest men, with a fortune estimated at $3.1bn, external (£2.4b) by Forbes, Motsepe replaced the previous administration led by Madagascar’s Ahmad.

Elected president in 2017 when he dethroned long-standing Caf president Issa Hayatou, Ahmad’s tenure was blighted by scandal, with the Malagasy – who denies wrongdoing – banned for two years by Fifa for breaking its ethics codes, including ‘misappropriation of funds’.