Tokyo runs risk of alienating Safa, CAF

Tokyo Sexwale risks souring relations with Safa and CAF with is refusal to withdraw from the Fifa presidential race. Photo: Dan Balilty

Tokyo Sexwale risks souring relations with Safa and CAF with is refusal to withdraw from the Fifa presidential race. Photo: Dan Balilty

Published Feb 7, 2016

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Tokyo Sexwale risks souring relations with Safa – as well as the Confederations of African Football (CAF) – following his refusal to withdraw from this month’s Fifa presidential race in Zurich, Switzerland.

Insiders say the former Gauteng premier was informed on Thursday night by CAF executive members in Kigali, Rwanda, that he would not be receiving their backing in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter, who was suspended and subsequently banned in December for eight years from football.

CAF instead released a statement on Friday evening confirming it had decided to back Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, who is the president of the Asian Football Confederation.

Sexwale told reporters after the announcement that he was not surprised he did not get Africa’s vote. Safa last week left Sexwale’s fate in the hands of the continent’s governing body after a meeting at OR Tambo International Airport, where Africa’s only candidate thought he would get an endorsement from his own continent’s federation.

Before his departure on Wednesday for Kigali, where the 2016 African Nations Championship has been under way, Sexwale was adamant CAF would decide his destiny.

However, in an about-turn, the businessman is persevering in the race for the Fifa top job and going head to head with Sheikh Salman, the Swiss Gianni Infantino, Frenchman Jerome Champagne and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who lost out to Blatter in June.

It would be extraordinary for Sexwale to win without receiving the backing of CAF, which boasts member associations who hold 54 of the 209 votes for the elections.

It is the biggest voting bloc, and the executive committee was unanimous in its decision to support Sheikh Salman.

He has the backing of his own confederation.

Uefa’s general secretary Infantino, seen as Sheikh Salman’s closest rival, has the support of his European body and the 10-member South American confederation, CONMEBOL.

Yesterday, there was no official word from Safa, which nominated Sexwale as a candidate in October.

However, an insider who did not want to be named because he did not have the authority to speak to The Sunday Independent, said: “The association is trying to protect its reputation as well as Mr Sexwale’s.

“It is in his best interests to withdraw from the race to keep his affiliation with CAF and his local federation.

“This will only put him on a collision course with the continent’s governing body. We do not want Safa’s name being dragged through the mud.

“Hopefully he can change his mind.”

Safa president Danny Jordaan, who also travelled to Kigali, could not be reached for comment late yesterday.

It is believed that he and Sexwale were held up in a meeting in an effort to convince the latter to announce his withdrawal from the Fifa presidential race.

The man who is elected to take over from the disgraced Blatter will be named on February 26.

– THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

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