Issa Hayatou: the rumor about the death of the former CAF president, denied
In recent hours, erroneous information has circulated, wrongly reporting the death of Issa Hayatou, former president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), at the age of 77.
For almost thirty years, he was a leading figure in African football. Leading CAF from 1988 to 2017, Issa Hayatou has been discreet since he was replaced by Ahmad Ahmad. However, this Friday, he found himself unwillingly at the center of the news when several sources announced his death. This rumor was quickly denied by journalist Richard Naha, renowned for his seriousness in the field of Cameroonian football.
“As of 8:30 p.m. GMT on Friday March 1, 2024, the purported news of the death of former CAF and FIFA President Issa Hayatou is FALSE. I recently spoke with one of President Hayatou's adopted sons, who himself was surprised by this news, confirming that Hayatou IS ALIVE”added his colleague Njie Enow.
Suspended for a year from all football-related activity by FIFA in June 2021 for an alleged violation of its “duty of loyalty” upon signing the contract concerning television and marketing rights for African football with Lagardère Sports, before being exonerated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Hayatou now occupies the position of honorary president of CAF.
Since his departure from the pan-African body, he has also assumed the role of president of the board of directors of the Cameroon National Football Academy (Anafoot) and is a member of the local organizing committee for CAN 2021, which was organized in Cameroon.