Baffoe gets Caf appointment at African Cup of Nations

Baffoe is among the top gurus at CAN

Ex-Ghana international Anthony Baffoe continues to rise in the world of football administration after being appointed as a member of the Caf Study Group at the 2010 African Cup of Nations which starts in Angola on Sunday.

The latest revelation is a massive shot in the arm for Baffoe who is considered as the rising kid in Africa's football administration.

 
With massive respect for his knowledge of the game from Fifa and Caf, Baffoe will join Africa's top football brains like Chief Festus Onigbinde, and Ahly legend Abdel Moneim Hussien who are among the well-informed experts of the continental game.

 
The group will also be responsible for analyzing the tournament for the continental football governing body Caf as well as selecting players who perform exceptionally to make-up the team for the tournament.

 
Baffoe will be based in Lubango where he will be providing his expertise in Lubango where Group D teams Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia and Zambia are based.

 
This is not the first time Baffoe, also one of the first black players to have played in the German Bundesliga is assuming such a role at a major championship.

 
Baffoe's steady rise in administration got a boost when he impressed as the match commissioner for the crucial World Cup qualifier between Gabon and Morocco last year.

 
World football governing body, Fifa, put the former Ghana defender in charge of the important Group A game in Libreville.

 
The performance of Baffoe during the match drew praise from both sides of the game with the Gabonese describing him as 'very professional' in news reports.

 
Even though Morocco lost the game 3-1, several plaeyrs of the Atlas Lions hailed the performance of the young administrator as 'very fair and firm'.

 
Baffoe cut his teeth in administration after an appointment by the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) early last year.

 
He was named as one of the technical experts for the maiden edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Ivory Coast in March.

 
The 44-year-old impressed Caf officials at the CHAN tournament, which prompted officials to recommend him for Fifa appointments.

 
Fifa's decision to hand him Nigeria's crucial World Cup qualifier against Kenya two months ago was seen as the confidence the authorities have in him.

 
His performance and tactfulness during the match in Abuja prompted Fifa to give him a bigger challenge.

 
The Ghanaian's experience as a footballer and an effective communicator, who speaks eights international languages, is certain to help his ascend to the top.

 
Baffoe, whose dreadlocks have now been replaced by a more conservative shaven-head look, played in the Bundesliga for FC Cologne and Fortuna Dusseldorf before spending three seasons in France with Metz and Nice.

 
He first played for the Black Stars in 1991, brought into the team by German coach Burkhard Ziese.

 
His first match for the Ghanaian team was his first trip back to his native country since he was a small child.

 
Baffoe last played for Ghana in the 1994 African Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.