CAF: Unchallenged Motsepe’s second term all but confirmed

Patrice Motsepe is set to go unopposed for the presidency at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) at its elective congress in 2025.

With CAF’s elective congress scheduled for 2025, no other candidate has expressed interest in contesting the South African.

Last month, CAF said Motsepe had “finally” agreed to stand “following requests from numerous [football federation] presidents, zonal union presidents, and key stakeholders”.

Motsepe himself expressed surprise at the lack of opposition, in an interview with BBC Sport Africa.

“I was partly taken aback by the huge insistence about continuity,”

“There was some concern that there may not be the same degree of emphasis on governance, on ethics, and the sort of fundamental changes that we’ve had to introduce.

“There’s a lot of good, good progress that has been made, but there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Last month’s CAF announcement was given even more credence after, Hany Abo Rida, ex-Egyptian Football Federation president and possibly Motsepe’s biggest threat to a second term, decided against running.

Instead, Abo Rida, who is currently a member of both the CAF Executive Committee and FIFA Council, has thrown his hat into the ring for another shot at running the Egyptian Football Federation.

Beyond the lack of candidates, the Executive Council’s sudden interest in changing election-related regulations has also been interesting to follow.

In October, CAF’s Executive Committee voted to remove the age limit for candidates seeking elective positions.

With the age limit of 70 years no longer enforceable, candidates like Abo Rida who are over 70 years can contest, but the Egyptian has his ambitions firmly placed elsewhere.