Ahmad Ahmad, the Madagascan contender in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) presidential election has on Thursday won the polls, beating incumbent Issa Hayatou.
In attendance at the 2017 General Assembly in Addis Ababa were FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Africa Union chairman Moussa Faki.
Ahmad, 57, polled 34 votes as against 20 by Hayatou who was seeking an eighth term and had been in the saddle since March 1988
Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick had strongly expressed support for Ahmad who has been the FA president of Madagascar for 17 years.
The Nigerian government and several powerful football personalities had rallied round Hayatou prior to Thursday’s election.
But Ahmad, who campaigned on the platform of change and transparency, had the support of Infantino and the whole of the Southern African region as a voting bloc.
He also split other regions with Hayatou in terms of support and he was confident ahead of the election that he would get enough votes to be the strong incumbent.
