African soccer official wants meeting to discuss president

A member of African soccer’s top decision-making body called Friday for an urgent meeting to investigate actions by the governing body’s president.

The request was made in a letter sent by Liberian official Musa Bility to fellow Confederation of African Football executive committee members. It comes a week after Bility denounced CAF President Ahmad while resigning from other positions within CAF.

Bility is seeking clarity over the awarding of African Nations hosting rights and to discuss concerns about CAF announcing Wednesday that bookmaker 1xBet had signed up to sponsor African soccer competitions.

“The signing of such a major sponsorship deal with a huge financial and regulatory implication without the approval of the CAF Executive Committee is a serious violation,” Bility wrote to executive committee colleagues in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

But CAF handed control of the sale of commercial rights to the Lagardere Sports agency, with the latest deal running 2017-2028. It was signed in 2015 by Ahmad’s predecessor, Issa Hayatou, whose 29-year rule was ended by the Madagascan official in a March 2017 election. That was also when Bility was elected to the CAF executive committee.

Friday’s letter to the committee had the subject “Call for an emergency meeting of the executive committee.”

“It is my fervent hope that you will concur with me to call this meeting for us to investigate … matters of gross statutory and financial procedural violations by the president,” Bility wrote.

CAF already has an executive committee meeting planned for April and there was no immediate indication from the governing body that an earlier gathering would be convened.

Bility sought the FIFA presidency but he was blocked from standing in the 2016 election after failing an integrity check.

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