Hayatou retains Africa presidency
TUNIS, Tunisia (Reuters) -- Issa Hayatou swept back into power in the Confederation of African Football presidential election, beating his Ismail Bhamjee from Botswana by 46 votes to six.
The four-year mandate for the 59-year-old Cameroonian will extend his leadership of African football until 2008, giving him 20 years in the top job.
"I can reassure you I am here to again serve African football," Hayatou said in his victory speech.
"CAF should remain what it is, an African organization run by Africans," he said in an apparent reference to his opponent's Indian ancestry.
South Africa-born Bhamjee, the former president of the Botswana Football Association, had earlier called for an end to cliques and racism in the organization in a last-minute appeal to the 52-member congress.
Tunisia's Slim Chiboub won a seat on the FIFA executive committee as one of Africa's four representatives in a boost for his own country's World Cup ambitions.
He will now be one of the 24 committee members who will decide the host nation for the 2010 World Cup on May 15.
Several of Hayatou's loyalists faced tough fights in the battles for seats on the powerful CAF executive committee and there was a surprise defeat for Morocco's Said Belkhayet, beaten by Hany Abu Rida of Egypt.
Former African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele of Ghana, seeking to become the first high-profile player to win a place on the committee, was beaten 32-20 in his bid to unseat Amos Adamu of Nigeria, who ran last year's All-Africa Games in Abuja.
"I didn't have the money to fight. You can't go on reputation alone," the former Marseille midfielder said.
Former committee member Leo Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who was swept off the committee two years ago with five votes in a re-election bid, fared even worse on Thursday in a four-way battle for the seat from the southern zone of African football.
The nephew of the Zimbabwean president received just two votes in an election won by Suketu Patel of the Seychelles.
"It's no problem, we were in the same camp," he said afterwards.
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