As the battle for the CAF presidency gathers momentum, Madagascar Football President Ahmad says he wants less political interference in the African game.
The Malagasy boss is challenging the long-serving Issa Hayatou for the CAF presidency in March.
Hayatou moved into office in 1988 and the 70-year-old is seeking his eighth consecutive term as head of the body that governs African football.
It is reported that Ahmad, whose single name means ‘the glorious’ in Arabic, wants to break Hayatou’s long reign, which critics consider “authoritarian”.
“If people want change there is no other choice. Only I can dare (to challenge Hayatou),” Ahmad told AFP at in Antananarivo.
“My program is the reform of the administration of CAF to avoid the involvement of politics in the organisation.”
Backed by 13 of the 14 countries in the COSAFA region, Ahmed is set to face a daunting challenge in unseating the long serving Hayatou.
Furthermore, doubts persist as to whether South Africa will back the outsider as their football president Danny Jordaan is a close ally to Hayatou.
The Cameroonian has been challenged for the presidency only twice and he inflicted humiliating defeats on Armando Machado of Angola and Ismael Bhamjee of Botswana.
However, the report also suggests that most observers believe Ahmad poses a greater threat to Hayatou.
On the other hand, Ahmed received a significant boost this week with West African football powerhouse, Nigeria publicly backing him.
