PARIS: The former leader of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou, has died at the age of 77, his compatriot Samuel Eto’o announced on Friday.

Former Barcelona star Eto’o, who is currently the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation, called Hayatou a “trailblazer of modern African football”.

He was key in securing the first World Cup on African soil in South Africa in 2010.

Hayatou was head of CAF from 1998 to 2017, overseeing a period in which the number of World Cup finals places awarded to African nations rose from three to five.

Before his tenure at CAF Hayatou headed Fecafoot from 1986 to 1988.

He was also a member of FIFA’s executive council and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Hayatou served as interim FIFA boss during the world football body’s corruption scandal when its president Sepp Blatter was suspended.

“CAF and African football will forever be indebted to President Hayatou for his immense contribution, over many years, to the development of football in Africa,” said current CAF president Patrice Motsepe.

“President Issa Hayatou was always able, through his leadership, his interpersonal skills, and his sense of pragmatism, to defend the voice of Africa. We owe him a lot,” added Eto’o, a three-time winner of the European Champions League.

As a mark of respect to the life of its honorary member, the IOC lowered the flags to half-mast at Oly­mpic House and the Olympic Museum in Switzerland.

“Issa Hayatou led FIFA through a very difficult period and was always defending the role of football in the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024