June 18 – After 18 years at the head of Congolese football, Constant Omari, for years one of African football’s most influential as well as controversial figures, is calling it a day after a career marked by claims of shady dealing and corruption.
Omari, former first vice president of the Confederation of African Football who for a brief period ran the entire show when Ahmad Ahmad was kicked out, has confirmed what he said back in March and is stepping down as boss of the Congolese Football Association (Fécofa).
In recent months Omari, a one-time FIFA reform official and key ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino in his 2016 election campaign, has become increasingly sidelined from the corridors of powers at continental and international level.
Elected to the FIFA Council in 2015, earlier this year he was barred from running again having failed an integrity and eligibility check because of “an ongoing formal investigation by the FIFA ethics committee.”
In 2018, Omari was arrested on suspicion of corruption and held for 24 hours in a public prosecutor’s office in Congo. Officials suspected him of embezzling money given to the federation by the government to fund the Congo national team but no charges were ever pressed.
At a press conference in Kinshasa, Omari insisted he was leaving “with my head held high.”
“We managed to stabilise this federation because everyone knew what it was long before,” he said.
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