The former President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou, has passed away.
His death was reportedly announced by the FIFA President, Gianni Infantino on Thursday.
“Saddened to hear of the passing of former CAF President, former FIFA President and interim, FIFA Vice President and FIFA Council member, Issa Hayatou”, Infantino wrote on his Instagram.
Hayatou had been battling a long illness before his death, which came just before his 78th birthday.
Hayatou was a Cameroonian sports executive, athlete, and football administrator best known for serving as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) between 1988 and 2017.
He served as the acting FIFA president until 26 February 2016 as the previous president Sepp Blatter was banned from all football-related activities in 2015 as a part of the that year’s FIFA corruption investigation.
In 2002, he ran for president of FIFA but was defeated by Blatter. He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In 2021, FIFA banned Hayatou for a year due to ethics violations, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the decision in 2022.
