CAF president Patrice Motsepe has responded to critics surrounding the new changes of having to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) every four years rather than the usual period of two years.
Motsepe was addressing the media during a heated Afcon closing press conference in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday afternoon.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns head honcho’s recent announcement that the Afcon will be staged every four years has received mixed reactions from the majority of staunch African football fans, stakeholders, media, and former and even current players.
Finally getting an opportunity to respond to the critics who argue that one of the main reasons behind the changes in the Afcon calendar is to accommodate Europe, Motsepe described that notion as ‘absolute rubbish’ and said CAF runs African football for Africans.
Motsepe also suggested that there are some African journalists who are on a mission to embarrass and disgrace CAF.
“I have got people in CAF who say that there are some journalists who, in the questions that they ask, are like they are talking for a constituency, and they are trying to embarrass and disgrace (CAF) because they have got loyalties and I don’t care,” Motsepe responded.
“I am more interested in what you ask, and my duty is to respond. So, it is not the president of CAF who makes the final decisions, but the 54 members of the exco in Africa who know football much better than those who are not in the day-to-day involvement in the challenges about infrastructure, the stadiums, and the money that we need to pay for the players, and we are satisfied.
“Where you are wrong, absolutely wrong, and your facts are incorrect, is that the revenue of the Afcon is significantly less than the revenue that we have implemented for the African Nations League. And we will be launching it [African Nations League] in the next few years.
“So, we are absolutely convinced that we are not going to adhere to a competition [Afcon] simply because it has been there for the past few years.”
Motsepe continued: “And where you are talking absolute nonsense is to say that we run Africa for Europe … that is absolute rubbish, it is nonsense! You are insulting us.
“We run Africa for Africa, and our job is to listen to ourselves and various others … whether you are objective or not is irrelevant, but when you have got 54 nations saying the Africa Nations is world class.
“And we have to take unpopular decisions that are beneficial, and every single one of our 54 presidents say that this is the best thing that has ever happened and I am confident that over the years, the results of what we are doing will speak for themselves.”
“It has taken us four years to be where we are. We took a unanimous decision in the CAF [to host the Afcon every four years], 100%. I am the one who has had to be convinced over the last 3 years of this change.”
Motsepe has since suggested that the winners of the African Nations League, which will be introduced in the coming years, will get a staggering $10-million prize money.
