ZURICH: FIFA’s acting president Issa Hayatou insisted he was fit to fill in for suspended Sepp Blatter despite long-running health problems, in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.

The 69-year-old president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has taken temporary charge of the sport’s world governing body as it wrestles with mounting sleaze allegations.

He took over on Thursday after Blatter was suspended for 90 days as Swiss prosecutors investigate him for criminal mismanagement in the latest blow to FIFA’s already tarnished image.

Cameroon’s Hayatou has kidney problems that require regular dialysis. But a statement from CAF said the condition had not had an impact on his ability to fulfil his duties in the past and would not hinder him as interim FIFA chief.

“I pledge that I will dedicate my best efforts to the organisation, the member associations, our employees, our valued partners, and football fans everywhere,” Hayatou said in the statement.

Hayatou heads FIFA’s crucial finance committee and once stood against Blatter for the presidency, although until the recent corruption storm, he had been a close ally.

He has headed CAF since 1988 and joined the FIFA executive in 1990.

Hayatou played a key role in Africa staging its first World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, but he has also faced controversy.

He received a reprimand from the International Olympic Committee in 2011 over allegations that he took money from the International Sport and Leisure (ISL) marketing company. ISL was a major source of FIFA funding until its collapse in 2001. In rare comments to journalists, Hayatou has always said he has a “clear conscience” about his dealings in international sport.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2015

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