Patrice Motsepe will continue to lead continental football as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the next four years, after being re-elected unopposed at the 14th CAF extraordinary deneralassembly in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday.
The South African mining magnate was elected unopposed and immediately reiterated CAF’s commitment to developing sports infrastructure on the continent. Due to a lack of proper stadiums, many African countries are unable to host matches in their own nations, depriving fans of the opportunity to watch their national teams play live.
“In 2021, there were 36 countries that were not playing football in their countries. The number has come down to 12, but — for us — this is still a big number,” Motsepe said. “At CAF and Fifa, it is our job to continue supporting the development of sports infrastructure.”
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— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) March 12, 2025
Dr Patrice Motsepe after being reelected as CAF president at the 14th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly!
📹 CAF#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/PmYOCW9CJm
It is a mammoth undertaking for the president, who has overseen significant improvements in continental football during his first four-year term, the most noticeable of which was the increase in prize money across all CAF competitions — whether at club or national team level, for both men’s and women’s football, as well as youth tournaments.
The introduction of a schools competition is another initiative for which Motsepe has been widely praised.
Expectations are high that he will use the upcoming four years to ensure that all CAF member countries have stadiums suitable for hosting international matches. However, to achieve this, Motsepe will need the support and cooperation of governments in these nations.
The current situation, where countries such as Lesotho, the Comoros, and Benin are forced to play their home matches at neutral venues — or even at their opponents’ grounds — is detrimental to the game.
The issue has worsened to the point that Morocco has become the go-to venue for many nations without proper stadiums.