The great continent of Africa our motherland has been truly blessed with not only beautiful landscapes from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Victoria Falls (Mosi-a -Tunya) in Zimbabwe to the timeless gigantic pyramids in Egypt that continue to defy all architecture and time, the motherland one can argue the Maker created this gigantic, enormous piece of land with the uttermost love.
And the very inhabitants of the land have since time in memory showed the highest levels of spirituality a testament of the appreciation they have to that love, and CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe one can argue that he was sent to preach the good news of the gods of football to the continent and by the Maker of All to bring out another beauty through football.
A Messiah from the most sacred of places of African spirituality, mining magnet Dr. Motsepe has been just that, bringing and unlocking the potential the continent has when it comes to the most loved sport from Cape to Cairo, Nairobi to Accra.
The last Nations Cup in Ivory Coast was a testament to the Messianic attributes Dr. Motsepe’s presidency has to the game as there was a record number of audiences who tuned in to watch the African spectacle with over a billion people having watched the tournament.
Not to mention the highest levels of adherence to quality in terms of the infrastructure from the stadia to the pitch quality, the quality of football and most of all the officiating with the use of VAR, that had Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville commending the unprecedented manner in which the technology had been used which brought fairness and excitement alluding that Premier league referees should see and copy what was being done at the Nations Cup.
Now what other approval rating does one require if one of the most relied upon outlets when it comes to football punditry says that about your conduct with regards to the beautiful game. With the ongoing preparations for the CHAN tournament that is set to be co-hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda Dr. Motsepe has been able to do what no previous president would have been able to do, that is getting the political leadership involved in matters of football through their unwavering support.
He met with President William Ruto of Kenya with his team on a working visit in December of 2024, assessing the progress made with regards to the infrastructure set to host the CHAN tournament. Getting assurances from the highest office in the land goes a long way in getting things done when it comes to such matters and with Dr. Motsepe being able to get that, one has to applaud him. Many at times in such scenarios you have situations where projects are behind time with so much mediocrity when it comes to quality. But here is a man going right to the ground of things articulating what he expects and meeting the powers that be invoking their commitment and assurance, and not just calling the shots from his power seat. In his press briefing he highlighted how President Ruto had given assurances on timelines of project completions with the strictest adherence to quality.
During that same working visit he also had discussions with Madam President Her Excellency Samia Suluhu of Tanzania as well President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and with the business acumen Dr. Motsepe is renowned for the 3 Executive office bearers gave an ear.
In a recent press briefing with members of the media in the aftermath of the announcement of the deal with Africa Global Logistics, Dr. Motsepe mentioned the importance of accountability especially with regards to CAF funds allocated to associations. You cannot have associations receiving Caf funds but come international football you do not have a venue fit to CAF and FIFA standards, and the Caf supremo emphasized the importance of every nation playing Infront of its fans. In this end he mentioned his plans to meet each and every one of the presidents of the 54 countries in Africa to articulate the importance
Dr. Motsepe’s presidency has also brought a lot of interest from the business world with numerous partners coming forward willing to partner the beautiful game in the upward trajectory it has been. Most recently the continental mother body went into a deal with Royal Air Maroc growing further the list of partners with Africa Global Logistics committing over a billion-dollar partnership not to mention those in the digital and broadcast space bringing Caf football to the comfort of television sets across the continent, and the world at large with 180 countries having had access to the continental showpiece. Those numbers reflect how AFCON’s global visibility just skyrocketed, and one has to commend the deliberate efforts by the Caf president that resulted in the surge in visibility, also calling on national broadcasters across the continent to be the ones leading as their mandate is to serve the public and what better way than airing the continent’s most loved sport.
With the upcoming Nations Cup in Morrocco, one expects a tournament that surpasses the Ivory Coast edition from all the positives witnessed during that tournament, and with Dr. Patrice Motsepe having been reelected as African Football supremo one looks forward to more brighter days ahead of the continent’s most loved sport.
