The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) through the President, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has commiserated with the Cameronian Football body as well as the African football family as a whole as the football world Mourns with the family of former Confederations of African Football CAF President, Issa Hayatou Who passed on on Thursday, aged 78.
Hayatou who served as President of CAF between 10th March 1988 through 16th March 2017 died after a protracted illness in the French capital, Paris on the eve of his 78th birthday.
“The NFF and the entire Nigeria football family are terribly saddened by the death of Alhaji Issa Hayatou. He was a great and much-loved leader of African football and did his best to leave African football greater than he met.
“Alhaji Hayatou was a man of strong character and integrity. We love him but God loves him more. We pray that Almighty Allah will grant him eternal rest and also grant the Cameroonian, nay African football family the fortitude to bear the loss.”
Hayatou, who served as Secretary of the Federation Cameroonaise de Football (FECAFOOT) in the 1970s, was elected CAF President on the margin of the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, to take office from interim boss, Dr Abdelhalim Mohamed, who had stepped in the previous year following the death of Dr. Ydnekatchew Tessema.
The late Hayatou Hayatou (who was born to the royal family in the northern Cameroonian town of Garoua) was also a member of the International Olympic Committee, and served as Acting President of football’s world-ruling body FIFA for 4 months and 18 days (8th October 2015 – 26 February 2016) following the suspension of Sepp Blatter and prior to the election of Gianni Infantino.
After 29 years in office as CAF President, Hayatou lost the bid for a fresh term in an election won by Ahmad of Madagascar at an elective Congress in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on 16th March 2017.
