FKF boss signs document, allowing Fifa to fix CAF corruption

Webster Nyandika

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) yesterday signed a petition, allowing world football governing body Fifa the powers for a ‘irrevocable mandate’ to market the media rights for all 54 Confederation of African Football (CAF) associations qualifying fixtures for the 2022 and 2026 Fifa World Cup finals.

“I have signed the document today, to give Fifa the go ahead to market the media rights for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. It is a good thing for all the 54 members of CAF, because the centralisation would ensure proper bargain and equal sharing of the resources,” FKF president Nicholas Mwendwa told People Sport yesterday.

The report claims that the governing body’s secretary general Fatma Samoura, parachuted in as Fifa’s general delegate for Africa to fix CAF’s corruption issues, wrote a letter giving member associations a deadline of  August 21 to sign and return the one-page document, which would effectively centralise the marketing of broadcast rights.

According to Inside World Football, Fifa’s centralisation agreement proposes that all first-to-third-party media rights – including live, delayed, and highlights content – from the qualifying matches should be “centrally marketed” by Fifa, with a view to distributing revenues equally across all CAF associations.

The letter reportedly suggests that revenues would be shared “according to a formula agreed by the Fifa administration, following consultation with the 54 African member associations of Fifa and members of CAF and after deduction of relevant expenses, such as production and sales costs”.

The development comes after Fifa took the decision in June to take over the running of soccer in Africa in the wake of governance issues within CAF; from  August 1, Samoura will take up her post in the federation for six months.

The takeover was advised by CAF’s president Ahmad Ahmad, who is being investigated by Fifa’s ethics committee amid allegations of corruption and sexual misconduct, for which no charges have been made and the 59-year-old has denied.

According to Inside World Football, one unnamed association president told the soccer news outlet that they were ‘shocked’ by the proposed contract, and also described Fifa’s ‘intervention of African affairs’ as a ‘form of colonisation’.

Meanwhile, Shehu Dikko, the second vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), reportedly said that African nations could ‘benefit greatly’ from the proposed deal. — AFP