Former CAF President Issa Hayatou Passes Away at 77

Issa Hayatou, the immediate past president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has died.
Hayatou, 77, died less than 24 hours before his 78th birthday on August 9.
He served as CAF President for 29 years before leaving office a few years ago.

The Cameroonian was the CAF’s longest-serving president, serving from 1988 until his surprise removal in 2017.

He also served as acting FIFA president from 2015 to 2016 after Sepp Blatter was suspended by the world football regulatory organization.

Hayatou, whose brother was Cameroon’s prime minister, had spent his whole life working in sports administration.

He served on the International Olympic Committee from 2001 until 2016, after which he became an honorary member.

The IOC reprimanded Hayatou in 2011 for his role in an alleged FIFA bribery scandal.

He received a reprimand when BBC Panorama reported that he earned around $20,000 from the now-defunct sports marketing company ISL in 1995. Hayatou denied any impropriety and claimed the money was a gift to his confederation.

Hayatou’s stint at the helm of African football saw the continent’s game progress, albeit he was frequently accused of being autocratic and hesitant to implement new change.

Hayatou ran against Blatter for the FIFA president in 2002, but lost badly because many African countries opposed him in the ballot.