November 20 – It was only a matter of time. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Egypt’s Amr Fahmy has been appointed general secretary of the Confederation of African Football in the latest move by the regime of Ahmad Ahmad to bring in his own people.
The 34-year-old Egyptian replaces Hicham El Amrani of Morocco, who resigned just weeks after long-standing president Issa Hayatou was ousted by Ahmad last March.
Fahmy’s grandfather Mourad served as CAF general secretary of African football’s governing body from 1961-82, after which he was replaced by his son Mustapha, who held the post until 2010 before moving to Zurich as the director of competitions at FIFA.
Currently serving with France-based Lagardère Sports as Director of Operations for Africa, Fahmy previously worked with the CAF Competitions Division between 2007 and 2015 and has strong links with Al Ahly, Cairo’s fanatically supported club side.
He will be assisted by former Ghana international Tony Baffoe, who has been appointed joint deputy general secretary in charge of development and competitions, while Essadik Alaoui of Morocco has also been appointed deputy general secretary, in charge of administration and finance.
When el Amrani resigned in the wake of Hayatou’s defeat, he gave no explanation but the reasons were pretty obvious. El Amrani was a Hayatou loyalist, constantly defending his boss who ruled African football for 29 years. He became CAF secretary-general, initially on an interim basis, in 2010 when Mustapha Fahmy moved FIFA.
As well as Hayatou being deposed after three decades, six of his key colleagues lost their positions on CAF’s executive committee.
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