"Credit where it is due", we often hear people say when they acknowledge the work done by someone else. This noble phrase may be overused at times, but it is so befitting when you look at the impact made by the seventh CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, since he assumed the office on 12 March 2021, at the 6th of October City, Giza, Egypt, headquarters. When Motsepe announced his decision to stand for presidency, it was met with mixed feelings because not everyone believed the mining magnate would be up to the challenge of leading such a controversial organisation.
First of all, we are talking about a man whose only involvement in football was as the president of Mamelodi Sundowns. Unlike your Dr. Danny Jordan, who is the SAFA President, Dr. Motsepe played no visible role in the domestic DStv Premiership nor the Association's leadership. Therefore, he was always cooped into the Chloorkop-based team's walls as his only contribution towards our football. To hear that he was looking at contesting for the biggest leadership seat in African football seemed like a businessman venturing blindly into politics for the first time. No one needs a reminder about how dirty the voting and canvassing process can be for these positions, let alone the behind-the- scenes squabbles and corruption that one has to navigate their way through.
Motsepe hardly ticked any of these boxes to every ordinary footballer's eyes. To say the founder of African Rainbow Minerals has already surpassed expectations and made his impact felt since assuming office would be an understatement. The 61-year-old Tlhopane deserves all the credit and hats off to him for turning this Association's fortunes and image around, in such a short space of time. Not many gave him a chance, yours truly included, knowing the shenanigans that are associated with the position he was going for. He outlined his 10-point plan to transform CAF, but even then, not many believed he would make as much impact as he has had.
How many of us thought the move for the 61-year-old to contest for CAF presidency was FIFA President, Gianni Infantino's plan to have his lapdog that he could use to control African football through the CAF office? After all, African leaders are known to be used by their 'superiors' and if there is one thing this Beautiful Game has taught us, it is that 'nothing is for free'. At face value, looking at the abovementioned facts, you've got to admit and accept that we were wrong to pre-judge Kgosi Augustine Motsepe's son before he could even show us what he was made of. We really doubted him and, for that, some of us owe him an apology. The man has been nothing but a breath of fresh air to our football and we can now safely say we have a clean leader in the hottest seat of African football.
Motsepe's tenure has been refreshing and now, for the first time in over five decades, it was recently announced that three East African countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will be hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Ethiopia was the last country from the eastern subregion of the African continent to host this prestigious tournament in 1976. That was almost five decades ago! Why has it taken so long, if CAF belongs to all the 54 Member Associations? This just goes to show that Motsepe has a vision for this continent and marking his 10-point plan off, one item at a time, by taking African football to the masses rather than a select few powerful countries. This man knows exactly what he is doing and needs all the support he can get. In all fairness, there was no reason for the biennial tournament to take this long for the East Africans to host.
Looking from a distance, Motsepe is not here to line his pockets but to serve the Beautiful Game and take African football to the next level. That's selfless service to the whole continent, not just focusing on Sundowns, and by extension, ensuring that when we get to the world stage we don't embarrass ourselves. The man has a clear vision for African football and he's been making his presence felt. A lot has changed since he took charge. When you look at the African Super League, notwithstanding the reluctance from some people, this could just prove to be the best thing to ever happen to African football.
There is a lot of financial reward in participating in this tournament, there is a lot of experience and exposure that will come with it, while players should be smiling all the way to the bank for their daunting travelling and fixture congestion they have to contend with. Like everything in life, there is still room for improvement and we expect the President to deliver on one of his 10-point plans, women's football development. It is worth mentioning that he has already impacted women's football by increasing prize money and ensuring that clubs get their women's teams up and running. However, what we saw in the COSAFA Women's Championship recently is something that we shouldn't still be witnessing in our Beautiful Game in this day and age!
We can't still have our women athletes playing tournaments for R20 000 individual prize money for the Player of the Tournament, as it was the case with Malawi forward, Temwa Chawinga, who also won the Golden Boot award. Golden Glove winner, Cynthia Shongwe, from Zimbabwe, also walked away with the same prize money. Yes, this is a COSAFA issue, but it should not be happening and it starts at the top. Surely, as a continent and region, we can do much better than that!
We've seen how well women's football performed at the recent FIFA Women's World Cup and for us to take our ladies' game to the next level, we have to make sure not to drop the standard and invest immensely in our women's football. Corporate has to come on board to uplift this game so that there are professional women's leagues across the continent, with our women playing as full-time professionals like their male counterparts. We now see more and more African women getting overseas contracts because of the exposure and their good performances. The incentives go a long way in levelling the playing fields because, for far too long, no one cared enough to invest in women's football.
Since taking over, Motsepe has ensured that prize monies have been increased in every competition and that means more money for the teams and players. Hardly five years into his term, Motsepe has made a significant impact to African football and seems clear about his vision, just as he did when he came into the Sundowns picture. With more support and unity behind his leadership, African football can only grow and improve. The world will surely be looking at us differently, something we've always longed for. We hear of no scandals involving African or CAF leadership as everything seems to be done above board. This is credit to Motsepe and it augurs well for our football. It is also good that players will be making as much money as they can through the new regime's initiatives.
It is good that someone finally has the players' best interests at heart. We've got to support and appreciate the difference Motsepe has made since taking charge. Long may it continue. Clearly this man is up to something because, owing to his leadership style, the Chloorkop-based machine has been operating with much success even in his absence because he's laid a solid foundation.
Cheers,
VeeJay
