Hayatou makes his stand

On paper Issa Hayatou should stand an excellent chance of becoming the next president of FIFA. The question is whether he is a wily enough campaigner to make overcome the incumbent Sepp Blatter, a canny operator in political circles if nothing else.

Launching his campaign, Hayatou said: Standing requires teamwork. In spite of my stated intention, I have to await the endorsement of my friends who are going to help me in this campaign. But I think they will permit me to be a candidate."

The endorsements from UEFA president Lennart Johansonn and Korean FA president and FIFA executive member Chung Mong-joon were quick to come. With African votes as well it looks like Hayatou has 147 out of 204 FIFA member counries.

Lennart Johansson, who Blatter beat in 1998 says of Hayatou: "He is a man of honour, very productive and very loyal to football. He knows what transparency, solidarity and loyalty mean in football."

Chung Mong-joon might have run himself. He said: "The presidency of FIFA should not go to a person who intends to reign, but to someone who is ready to serve - for the development of world football and the unity of the football world."

Blatter, though, is already showing just how shrewd he still is when it comes to winning votes. None of the federations can vote as a block so the global canvassing of votes has already started. Liberia and Zimbabwe have already declared their support for Blatter with Edwin Snowe, the Liberian president saying he Hayatou has done nothing to help his country and he would do all he could to rally support for Blatter.

The Blatter bandwagon rolls on to the Ivory Coast and Senegal this week (25th March) and although his aides say the visit has been long planned you can bet the support drum will be banged long and hard.

Hayatou will be hoping that Blatter's failure to deliver the 2006 World Cup to Africa will be as damaging to his prospects as the internal inquiry into the scale of the organisation's losses through it's links to the troubled marketing company ISL.

Hayatou says: "If I become president then my office will be transparent and open. You can look at the books of CAF right now and see all the information you want. I believe it should be the same at FIFA. I believe Mr Blatter has done some good things for football but now I believe that the time has come for change."

The 55 year old Hayatou has been president of CAF since 1988. As a keen amateur footballer and all-round sportsman in his native Cameroon, he was a member of the national basketball team and once the 800 metres champion.

A former Cameroonian sports minister, his tenure as the most powerful man in African football has seen the continent's World Cup qualifiers increase from two to five and the establishment of the Champions League format for clubs. He has also helped increase the number of Africans on the FIFA executive

It looks like Hayatou will have to rely on that record and a whole lot more before he can count on the votes of his fellow Africans.

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