8 April 2011
Ghana legend Abedi Pele wants CAF president Issa Hayatou to quit the post for younger people to better run the affairs of Africas football.
Abedi issued a scathing rebuke against the Cameroonian administrator accusing him of hijacking CAF.
The three-time African Footballer of the Year questioned the way CAFs sponsorship money is used insisting it is worthless winning the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Hayatou, who turns 65 in August, has been at the helm of the affairs of African football since 1988.
Abedi, who was previously a vocal opponent of Hayatou, supported the continuation of Hayatou’s reign when he was re-elected two years ago.
However, the Ghanaian legend says it is time for Hayatou and his cronies who are part of the older generation to leave office.
If you are old, 65 or 70, pave the way for the young ones who have fresh ideas to better manage the game, Abedi Pele told the Africa Watch magazine.
The legend says they must not be allowed to hijack the game in Africa and think that its their own.
Abedi says the Africa Cup of Nations has been made worthless because there is no prizemoney attached to winning Africas flagship football tournament.
When you win, you dont get anything. You only get an empty trophy, Abedi said in the monthly magazine.
What is CAF using our sponsorship monies for? he asked.
Pele, a three-time African Footballer of the Year, was an official ambassador for the 2010 World Cup when he supported Hayatou re-election two years ago.
He is also a member of the football committee of the game’s world governing body FIFA. When Hayatou challenged Sepp Blatter for the presidency of FIFA in 2002, Pele urged African countries to support Blatter.
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