Chiyangwa jumps onto the Motsepe bandwagon

COSAFA has thrown its weight behind Patrice Motsepe ahead of the Caf presidential elections set for March this year.

Billionaire Motsepe, who owns Mamelodi Sundowns, was cleared to contest earlier this week together with Mauritania FA president Ahmed Yahya, Ivory Coast's Jacques Anouma and Senegal FA president Augustin Senghor.

The elections are set for March 12 at the Caf Congress in Rabat, Morocco.

In a statement Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa said: "At a meeting of (the) Cosafa executive committee on 27 January 2021, it was unanimously resolved that Dr Patrice Motsepe is the only candidate endorsed by the 14-member regional body to run for the Caf presidency in March this year.

"The Cosafa executive reiterated a decision taken in 2017 that the Zone should always support one of its own, in this case Dr Motsepe. In 2017, Cosafa was the first bloc to endorse eventual winner Ahmad Ahmad from Madagascar."

Chiyangwa said he was confident that once all member associations take a unanimous decision to back one of their own, other members that want real change at Caf will join the winning party.

Cosafa believes Motsepe will usher in a new era for African football, which has long been beset with corruption and maladministration.