Walter falls, FA Malawi president fails bid on Fifa seat:  South Africa’s Motsepe elected CAF president

Football Associated of Malawi  (FAM) presiden  MacMillan Walter Nyamilandu Manda on Friday lost his FIFA Council seat for the Anglophone bloc  to Amaju Pinnick of Nigeria during the Confederation of African Football (CAF) elective conference in Rabat, Morocco.

Amaju won convincingly after polling 48 votes against Nyamilandu’s miserable 8.

The results are a big blow to Nyamilandu who had hoped to continue after being on the seat for the last 2 years after he replaced Ghanaian Kwesi Nyantakyi who resigned in 2018 following corruption scandal.

Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama said he did not endorse Nyamilandu because government was not officially aware of his candidature .

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe emerged as the President of CAF, taking over from Ahmad Ahmad.

“Africa needs collective wisdom, but also the exceptional talent and wisdom of every (national football association) president and every member nation,” he said.

“When we all work together, football in Africa will experience success and growth that it has not enjoyed in the past.”

Africa has suffered serious setbacks in recent years with all five qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia eliminated after the first round — the continent’s worst showing in 36 years.

Last November, Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad became the first CAF president to be banned by FIFA, with a five-year suspension for “governance issues” cut to two after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.