Former president of Confederation Of African Football (CAF) Issa Hayatou dies in Paris.
Issa Hayatou who served as the CAF president for 29 years from 1988-2017 dies in Paris on Thursday evening age 77 years,just a day to his 78th birthday after a long illness.
Hayatou who also served as the acting FIFA president until 26 February 2016 as the previous president Sepp Blatter was banned from all football-related activities in 2015 as a part of that year’s FIFA corruption investigation was said to have been receiving treatment in a Paris hospital where he passed away on the evening of Thursday August 8,2024.
Issa Hayatou was born in Garoua, in what was then French Cameroon, on 9 August 1946, the son of a local Sultan, and became a middle distance runner and physical education teacher. He had a successful career as an athlete, becoming a member of the Cameroonian national squads in both Basketball and Athletics, and holding national record times in the 400- and 800-metre running.
He was voted CAF president in 1988 and oversaw many changes in African football,notably pushing for Africa’s representation from two teams to five in the FIFA world cup.
He also led the committee that bid for the 2010 world cup to be hosted in South Africa,the first time in history.
Hayatou will be remembered for his many contributions to African football.