President of Africa’s football governing body, CAF, Patrice Motsepe, has delivered a furious reaction to allegations of being influenced by Europeans and FIFA to take decisions that suit them at the expense of Africa.
Motsepe delivered the furious reaction in his address at a press conference before the 2025 AFCON final that takes place on Sunday, January 18.
Senegal and Morocco will play in the game this weekend; both nations have won the AFCON once and are in the hunt to win a second title.
However, Patrice Motsepe vehemently refused to back the notion that the change of the AFCON hosting cycle from two years to four years was done to please FIFA and folks in Europe.
“Keep quiet. You’re wrong. Your facts are incorrect.”
“You’re absolutely wrong. It’s nonsense. It’s rubbish. We run Africa for Africa” he said to a journalist who asked the question and added that
“People say AFCON was changed to four years because of Europe; that is absolutely nonsense. Rubbish. FIFA respects us. Let’s stop the inferiority complex. Sometimes we both compromise to accommodate the interests of football.”
The AFCON four year hosting cycle commences after the 2028 edition.
