Longtime FIFA official Hayatou back in African soccer work
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Former African soccer leader Issa Hayatou will help organize some of the continent's top tournaments.
The Cameroon sports ministry says it has appointed Hayatou, who was FIFA's interim president in 2015-16, as a special adviser to the organizers of competitions it will host, including the 2020 African Nations Championship and the 2021 African Cup of Nations.
Hayatou left top-level soccer when his 29-year presidency of the Confederation of African Football ended in 2017 with an election loss to Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar.
Cameroon was stripped of hosting this year's African Cup by CAF, which cited poor preparations. The decision was widely seen as a riposte to Hayatou.
With CAF in turmoil and Ahmad implicated in financial corruption by French investigators, FIFA has sent secretary general Fatma Samoura from Zurich to run the Cairo-based organization.
The 73-year-old Hayatou has retained honorary membership of the International Olympic Committee and attended meetings in June in Lausanne, Switzerland.
