'Most' COSAFA members backing Motsepe

10/31/2024 08:21 AM

Patrice Motsepe has already been endorsed by five COSAFA members to run for re-election as Confederation of African Football (CAF) president.

The South African businessman, who succeeded Ahmad Ahmad at the helm of CAF in March 2021, announced his intention to run for re-election last week.

SAFA president Danny Jordaan revealed in a press conference on Wednesday that South Africa, Zambia, Eswatini, Botswana and Malawi are backing Motsepe for a second term.

Jordaan also stated that “most of” the 14 COSAFA members are supporting Motsepe, not because he hails from the region, but due to his achievements at the head of CAF.

“We’re here because it’s election season. In this period we start with the election of CAF which is next year in March and FIFA later in the year,” he said.

“I have spoken to all presidents in the [COSAFA] region; some of them cannot be here, but they’ve sent messages of support. We want to explain why we’re supporting the name of Dr Patrice Motsepe. We did so the first time [in 2021] and he’s going for the second term.

“We’ve seen significant improvement in CAF not just from the financial point of view but also from football. We now have a CAF schools’ competition that starts in COSAFA. Football has really shown exponential growth under the leadership of Motsepe.”