Issa Hayatou, a towering figure in African football who served as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for nearly three decades, has passed away at the age of 77.
Hayatou died in Paris on Thursday, August 8, 2024, just one day before what would have been his 78th birthday.
Hayatou’s influence on African and global football was profound. The Cameroonian took the helm of CAF in 1988 and led the organization until 2017, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in the history of the sport.
Under his leadership, African football saw significant growth and development, culminating in South Africa’s historic hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first time the tournament was held on African soil.
In addition to his role at CAF, Hayatou held several prominent positions within FIFA, the world football governing body. He was a member of FIFA’s executive committee, now known as the FIFA Council, from 1990 to 2017. Hayatou also briefly served as FIFA’s interim president from 2015 to 2016, stepping in after the suspension of then-president Joseph Sepp Blatter amid a major corruption scandal.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino paid tribute to Hayatou, acknowledging his lifelong dedication to sports. “Saddened to hear of the passing of former CAF president, former FIFA president ad interim, FIFA vice president, and FIFA council member, Issa Hayatou,” Infantino wrote in a post on Instagram.
Infantino ststed, “A passionate sports fan, he dedicated his life to sports administration. On behalf of FIFA, condolences go to his family, friends, former colleagues, and all who knew him. Rest in peace.”
Hayatou’s journey in sports began long before his administrative career. In his youth, he was an accomplished track athlete and basketball player, a testament to his deep-rooted passion for sports.
However, Hayatou’s career was not without controversy. In August 2021, he was handed a one-year ban by FIFA for allegedly breaching its code of ethics in relation to a significant deal with French media company Lagardere in 2016.
This deal was the largest in African football history. Despite the ban, Hayatou’s reputation remained largely intact, especially after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the sanction in February 2022.