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Issa Hayatou: A Legacy Worthy Of Respect After all
By Ajong Mbapndah L & Zelifac Asong
As successful and exciting as the recent African Nations Cup in Angola was, the controversy surrounding the attack of the Togolese National Team traveling by road in the Cabinda Region continues to linger on. The unwarranted attack left about two members of the delegation death, many injured and a terror stricken and demoralized squad. Hard for many to imagine the Togolese squad participating in the tournament at least not with the same deal that brought them to Angola. If a few hesitations, the Togolese National Team finally settled on withdrawing from the tournament.For boycotting the tournament, the Togolese National Team was slammed with a heavy fine and banned from the qualifying matches of the next two editions of the Nations Cup. The decision was harsh and incurred the wrath of the Togolese and football fans sympathetic to a Team and people still grieving from the shock of the attack. A perfect scape goat for the misfortune of the Togolese National Team was found in the Confederation of African Football CAF and more especially its charismatic President Issa Hayatou. At the helm of CAF since 1988, the saga of the Togolese National Team has exposed Issa Hayatou to all sorts of criticisms and insults. CAF as an Institution is certainly not perfect and neither is its President Mr. Issa Hayatou but belittling the efficiency of the Institution and the solid track record of its current President is not fair and does not serve the continuous progress of the sport in Africa.
Issa Hayatou was elected as President of CAF in 1988 after hard fought elections. Unlike many African leaders who use the ruse of flawed elections to stay in power, Hayatou has been regularly re-elected in elections which should serve as a model for transparency to the rest of the continent. If his competence was ever in doubt, he should have been voted or faced a strong challenge from any other African considered worthy of the job. Certainly with the abundance of talent in the continent there are many Africans who can do as well if not better than Issa Hayatou but the man is there because of elections and not some appointment or favour from some quarters.
For the 22 years that Mr. Hayatou has presided over the destiny of African football, only the most bitter of cynics will deny that the continent has emerged as a force to reckon with in the world of soccer. From two representations at the world cup when Hayatou took over in 1988, Africa’s fortunes have soared to the extent where the continent now has five representations. With the advantage of hosting the 2010 world, the automatic qualification of host country South Africa means that the continent will have a historic number of six flag bearers at the world cup.
Gone are the days when the former Zaire use to receive nine one whippings from the former Yugoslavia at the 1974 world cup. With each passing world cup since the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon braved it to the quarter finals in Italy 1990, the prospects of an African country eventually winning the coveted trophy are just a matter of time. At that world cup, Cameroon humbled defending champions Argentina with the legendary Diego Maradona as captain. At the opening game of the 2002 world cup in Korea and Japan, Senegal tamed defending champions France of another soccer legend Zinedine Zidane in the opening match. Senegal eventually bowed out at the quarter final stage of that world cup.In the face of these heroic performances and brilliant leadership from Issa Hayatou, it was hard for the world to continue depriving Africa the hosting rights of a world cup. South Africa eventually got this honor. As much as the fame of Nelson Mandela ,Desmond Tutu, then President Thabo Mbeki and other soccer stars in the continent contributed to make this feat possible, credit and much of it must be given to Issa Hayatou for the tremendous contribution of his leadership of CAF to the success of Africa’s bidding right for the 2010 world cup.
The African Nations Cup has become the centre of huge media attention from all over the world. At the time Issa Hayatou took over as President of CAF, the tournament was limited to eighth countries. Today the tournament has sixteen participating countries, generates more money, and is better mediatised among other innovations. The European league virtually comes to a standstill because of the African stars who call the shots all put country and continent first and turn out enmasse for the leading soccer jamboree in the continent.
In a bid to give local talent a chance, a continental tournament is now available just for players who ply their trade in the continent. In the absence of such a tournament, it will be hard for African based players to compete with the more experienced and professional ones who play in the European league. Youth and Female soccer also enjoys greater attention now. The African Champions league generates revenue in billions and is very stiffly contested.
One of the major aims of Hayatou's presidency in the late 1990s was to provide incentives to African football clubs which would stem the flow of African players to Europe; a initiative which met with little success.Hayatou has couched some criticism of the uneven flow of football 'resources' in colonial terms, saying that "rich countries import the raw material – talent – and often send their less valuable technicians", an implied criticism of foreign coaching staffs that employed by most African national sides.A September 1997 initiative negotiated by Hayatou with UEFA saw the payment of fees to African governing bodies and clubs for African born players working in Europe. This was followed by the Meridian Project signed in December 1997 with UEFA, which was to provide cash payments to African National Associations every other year, and created the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup. The 1999 Goal Project created with FIFA gives 46 African FAs financial support worth one million dollars over four years.Despite support from UEFA for Hayatou in his bid to upstage FIFA’s President Joseph Sepp Blatter in 2002, the CAF President suffered a bruising defeat . Worthy of note is the fact Hayatou was unable to get all the African votes.
Nothing brings more joy to many Africans than soccer. But for the unfortunate calamity that the attack on the Togolese National Team was in Angola, there have been few security lapses of that magnitude. The Nations cup was successfully hosted in a new post racial South Africa in 1996, its been successfully hosted in Mali in 2002 emerging from strive with Tuareg rebels, successfully hosted in Senegal in 1992 despite the troubles in the Casamance region. Angola deserves credit for hosting the 2010 Nations Cup. The tournament certainly boasted the ego of a people recovering from decades of a vicious civil war.
It is hard to believe that a single individual albeit the leader of CAF single handedly decided to hand Angola the hosting rights of the 2010 world cup, its hard to believe that Issa Hayatou single handedly decided on the sanctions inflicted on the Togolese National Team. The sanctions it appears were made not just because of the decision of the Togolese National Team to boycott the tournament but rather because the decision to withdraw from the tournament was taken by the Togolese government. Just like FIFA, CAF considers the interference of governments in the management of football as anathema. FIFA has in the past suspended several countries just because of unwarranted meddling of government in the management of football. Certainly there are avenues for this decision to b contested.
It can only be a good thing because left in the hands of governments, the chaotic management models that still excel across the continent would certainly have bankrupt the game. Hard to see any leaders around the continent with the positive track record of President Issa Hayatou. His leadership as pointed out earlier has not been without imperfections, the decision to suspend Togo may have hurt many feelings especially on compassionate grounds but for all he has done for African Football, Mr. Hayatou deserves greater respect and recognition. Nothing flies the African flag higher in the world today than its football .What diplomacy and politics have failed to bring or achieve for the continent, its football has and there’s no way history will not reserve a choiced place for Mr Hayatou when the story of the phenomenal evolution of the business of soccer in the continent is eventually written someday.