African football chief under scrutiny over secret Saudi World Cup deal
IMAGO | President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe hosting a press conference in Algiers, Algeria.
Last week CAF unveiled a deal with the Saudi Football Federation. Subsequent reports have suggested Saudi sponsors will be saviours of an African Super League. Both are seen as key to building support for a 2030 Saudi World Cup bid.
Allegations of unilateral decision-making and undisclosed sponsorship plan cause stir in CAF Exco.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia’s aggressive dealmaking in the run up to a vote for the 2030 World Cup bears echoes of Qatar’s lobbying 15 years ago. But in a supposedly transparent environment do they stand up to scrutiny?
The perspective: Africa is the key battleground for the 2030 World Cup bid race, but with the CAF president seemingly acting unilaterally, will his deals with Saudi Arabia backfire?
24 May 2023 - 3:30 PM
The head of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Patrick Motsepe, has come under scrutiny amidst accusations of a lack of transparency in his dealings with Saudi Arabia, with leading African football officials only learning about key deals with the kingdom via the media.
Last week CAF unveiled a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Football Federation (SAFF), and subsequent reports in the Guardian newspaper have stated that Saudi Arabia is in talks with CAF over a $
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