The new President of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), Ahmad Ahmad, has turned down his monthly salary from African football’s governing body.
Fresh on a change campaign, Ahmad, 57, stunned the world by bringing an end to the 29-year reign of Cameroonian Issa Hayatou in March, and he’s now refused a salary as he looks to birth a new Caf.
“I’ve refused a Caf salary for the simple reason it doesn’t respect good administration,” he told BBC Sport Monday.
“The salaries of all Caf employees, from administrators to the executive committee and president, all have to be transparent.”
The former Madagascar FA Chief held his first senior Caf meetings on Monday ahead of this week’s Fifa Congress, and went straight to the key issue of how to reform the Cairo-based governing body.
“The reform of the administration is a very important point – everyone must know what is happening.
“First we must review the standards of management so that we can apply the reforms. I’m sorry to tell you when I was part of the Caf Executive Committee there was no separation of powers – the judicial body, the executive one and the congress – and we have to respect the independence of each body,” he continued.
“There is a big tendency to monopolise power in the executive committee. It has to be reviewed and reformed with new statutes for Caf so that everyone can concentrate on their proper tasks.”
Ahmad has also talked about the need for reviving the flagship Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which, according to him, is in danger of being overshadowed by the African Nations Championship (CHAN) which is for home-based players.