Ahmad secret visit won my CAF vote-Mwendwa

Football Kenya Federation boss Nick Mwendwa has revealed how a secret visit by the newly elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad Ahmad to the country reinforced his choice to vote for Issa Hayatou’s opponent in Thursday’s CAF elections.

Mwendwa further declared the change of guard at the continental body also safeguards Kenya’s status as the hosts of the 2018 Africa Home Nations Championships (CHAN) as he finally broke his silence on which side of the divide he was during the historic poll.

He was speaking to Citizen Digital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia moments after Madagascan Ahmad ended Cameroonian Issa Hayatou 29-year reign as CAF President.

Ahmad, head of Madagascar’s football federation, won the election in the Ethiopian capital by 34 votes to Hayatou’s 20.

On his part, Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye who had declared the East Africa region would vote as a bloc for Hayatou last week looked crestfallen when the shocking result was announced.

“Africans have made their decision and I hope Ahmad can deliver. I hope the new administration that’s coming in will continue running football well.

“It’s a surprise he won by that much but I’m not shocked. We have been seeing the sequence of events since Monday and it all pointed to what we’ve witnessed today,” Musonye told Citizen Digital.

The regional chief hailed the exiting Hayatou’s tenure, saying much had been accomplished during his time in power.

“he changed African football and so we want to wish him well. There is a wave hitting leadership globally and its caught up with Africa. Too much stay in office is becoming dangerous and leaders must prepare for their exits as soon as possible,” he observed.

Clarification: We had earlier reported that it was FIFA President Gianni Infantino who had made a secret visit to Kenya; we regret the error.