Kwesi Nyantakyi clinches top Caf post

Kwesi Nyantakyi

Ghana Football Association boss Kwesi Nyantakyi secured a landslide victory on Wednesday to grab a seat on the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, Ghanasoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.

The affable Ghanaian thumped Anjorin Moucharafou of Benin in Sudan by winning nearly two times more than his opponent. Voters delivered a humiliating snub to the controversial leader of Caf, Issa Hayatou, who had canvassed for votes for Moucharafou.

Nyantakyi grabbed 34 votes while his opponent took home a paltry 19 votes.

The decision by the voters marks a dramatic shift in the way football is run in Africa as visionary leaders were being sought after to steer the affairs of the game in Africa.

The victory is a massive boost for Ghana football as it has given the glowing football country a strong voice on the powerful executive committee.

Nyantakyi's win was boosted by the withdrawal of Tata Avlessi of Togo and Hima Souley of Niger who threw their weight behind the Ghanaian.

Crucially the strides made by the various Ghana national team played in Nyantakyi's favour have steered the West African country in the right path of the past six years.

Hayatou's quest to swing things in the favour of the Benin FA boss through unethical and unorthodox means was utterly rejected by the delegates who voted massively for the Ghanaian despite pleas from the Cameroonian.

The hugely controversial Caf president had been calling up several FA bosses to ask them to vote for Moucharafou - the posterboy for the not-too-popular Hayatou.

Moucharafou has over the years been singing Hayatou's praises via the printing of calendar at his own cost and even wrote a book to hail the Cameroonian's 'achievements'.

Football administrators in the country have expressed joy at the election of GFA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi as an Executive Committee member on Wednesday. Former Ghana FA chairman Nyaho Tamakloe says Nyantakyi's nomination to the Caf seat did not surprise.

'I worked with him at the Ghana FA and he was very co-operative and I knew he was going to win.

After leading Ghana to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany and the exploits of the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup, I knew no FA president will reject him,' Nyaho Tamakloe told Accra-based Hot FM.

'This means the seeds sowed by Ohene Djan, HP Nyametei and the rest are beginning to germinate.'

Ghana FA spokesperson Randy Abbey added: 'He is a team player and very affable. For me I get to learn a lot from and his hard work has paid off. I knew he was going to win but I must admit that I'm humbled by the result.

'The more than 20 African Football Association heads to come to country can't be underestimated at all and this is a man whose leadership qualities has now received continental recognition.'

King Faisal Football Club owner Alhaji Karim Gruzah also told Hot FM:' We have to thank God for this victory because he never forgot about Allah's help. Before leaving, he asked both Muslims and Christians to pray for him and his prayer has been answered.'

Reactions of Ghanaian fans
Ghanaian soccer fans have hailed FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi election to serve on the Executive Committee of Caf. Plenitude of congratulatory messages dominated local radio phone-ins when the news broke out.

'This is a testimony of the kind of work that Mr. Nyantakyi has done for Ghana Football and we should all be happy as Ghanaian and that he'll bring his rich vein of experience to bear on the African continent,' Ex- Hearts of Oak National Chapters Committee Secretary Maxwell Asabre told Happy FM

A fan, Veronica Mensah said: 'This is a great moment for Ghana Football and I'm lost for words. This is the man we need to help us go higher and higher. I'm full of tears and don't even know what to say again. I'm simple overjoyed.

Kumasi-based Hello FM's Kenneth Obeng reports the news spread like wildfire with messages of felicitations pouring in thick and fast from soccer fans.

'I guess this is what many local fans have been waiting for and so I'm not really surprised that the kind of response that has greeted fans in the city of Kumasi. This is an indication that man heavily loved in the garden city and I'm sure the celebration will go deep into the night.'

Volta Premier's Rustum Senorgbe also says fans in the Volta region have received the news which was broke by GHANAsoccernet.com with great pride.

'To tell you the truth a lot of the radio stations that were running their normal music programmes quickly shifted attention to the Caf election when the news was broke and I must say the number of calls to the various stations is amazing,' he said.