By Razeen Gutta
According to secretary general Veron Mosengo-Omba, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will be free from any debt by next year after the direction taken since Patrice Motsepe became president in 2021.
Mosengo-Omba said that the federation owed $40-million (±R700-million) when he and Motsepe took over three years ago; and added that the figure has more than halved since then.
“I think we will present a [deficit] figure to the CAF congress of less than $12-million. And for the next fiscal year, [the debt] will be zero.” Mosengo-Omba told BBC Sport Africa.
CAF’s financial year runs from the beginning of July to the end of June annually, with accounts presented in October each year. This means that the federation could well be free from all debt in less than 12 months’ time.
Motsepe, 62, was given all the credit for turning the “toxic” company’s fortunes around.
“Motsepe and his executive coming in was, for me, a gift for African football. In 2021, CAF was a toxic company – nobody trusted CAF,” Mosengo-Omba said.
“When Motsepe came, he put the principle of good governance and integrity in place in all levels of the organisation. This brings confidence to our partners.”
Under Motsepe, one of Africa’s richest men, CAF’s sponsors for their showpiece Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) competition rose from 10 in the 2021 edition to 17 for the 2023 finals, which were played in January this year.
“In Cameroon [2021] we generated about $4.5-million profit. In Ivory Coast [2023], the profit was more than $75-million. This shows we are going in a good direction; and for Morocco, the next edition, I think [the profit] will be increased by 50%,” Mosengo-Omba added.
Pictured above: Patrice Motsepe and Veron Mosengo-Omba.
Source: @futballbrief
Full Story Source: Almost debt-free CAF no longer ‘toxic’
