Issa Hayatou: The man who ran African football for 29 years

After an unsuccessful bid to become Fifa president in 2002, the beginning of the end of Hayatou’s Caf reign came in 2016 when elections to replace Blatter were held by Fifa.

The Cameroonian instructed Caf’s 54 members to back Bahraini candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, yet Gianni Infantino assumed the crown instead.

The Swiss-Italian was keen to see Hayatou removed from power and he was dethroned by the Fifa-backed candidate Ahmad in 2017.

However, the Malagasy became far more enmeshed in scandal than his predecessor ever had been – becoming the first Caf president to be banned by Fifa for breaching its ethics code.

Developments since Hayatou’s exit have given some of those who had sought to vote him out of office time to reflect on his legacy.

“The passing of Issa serves as a poignant reminder of the loss we have experienced since his exit from the realm of power in African football,” Musa Bility, the former president of the Liberian federation, told BBC Sport Africa.

“Each of us who opposed him should find the strength to apologise to this remarkable leader.”

On the very day that Hayatou’s one-year Fifa ban was overturned, during the staging of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in his homeland, he caught sight of Infantino.

Hayatou reportedly told him ‘You wanted me dead, but I am alive’.

The Cameroonian has now departed, with tributes pouring in and flags lowered to half-mast by Caf and the IOC.

Despite his faults, many believe he promoted the interests of African football better than most who went before or have followed since.