Issa Hayatou is set to be named Honorary President of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) next month.
This follows a proposal by the Caf Executive Committee at its meeting on Thursday, December 10 2020 and subsequent approval by the General Assembly today.
Hayatou served as Caf President for 30 years before he was ousted in an unprecedented Caf election in 2017 by Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad.
Following the General Assembly’s ratification, a special ceremony is expected to be held for the 74-year-old in his home nation Cameroon in January.
Hayatou was first made an honorary vice-president of Fifa after losing the 2017 Caf elections.
According to Caf, the decision recognized a “renowned personality of African football for his work,” with the title “saluting his immense role in the development of African football.”
The Caf Executive Committee and General Assembly did not feature Hayatou’s successor Ahmad, with the official last month receiving a five-year ban from football from the Fifa Ethics Committee.
Ahmad has been accused of ethics breaches, including the mismanagement of funds during his turbulent four-year term at the helm of Caf.
The Madagascan official has vowed to appeal the sanction at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and has claimed the Fifa Ethics Committee expedited his ban to prevent him from being re-elected President of the African football governing body.
The meeting was instead chaired by Constant Omari, Caf first vice-president, who has assumed the Interim Presidency.
The next Caf election is expected to take place in 2021.
