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CAF Boss Ahmad Released From French Custody

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...Ahmad Ahmad...(goal.com photo)
...Ahmad Ahmad...(goal.com photo)

Confederation of Africa Football president, Ahmad Ahmad has been released from custody and has received support from FIFA, boss Gianni Infantino.

Ahmad made headlines on Thursday after he was apprehended in a luxury hotel in Paris, France on the eve of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is set to get underway this evening.

The 59-year-old was taken in by the Central Office in the fight against corruption and financial and fiscal offences (OCLIF), reportedly over allegations of corruption said to have been opened up by former CAF general secretary, Ahmed Fahmy.

But the FIFA vice-president was since released last night and has been reprieved of charges, while further reports suggest he will depart France on Saturday after retaining his passport.

In the mean time, Infantino, who was re-elected as the head of world football on Tuesday for another term, has voiced his support for the Madagascan as well as “Africa”, but assured he will not tolerate corruption in football.

“He [Ahmad] was brought to be interrogated. We have to wait for the outcome,” Infantino was quoted by Associated Press on Thursday evening.

“Of course, I said it yesterday [Wednesday] very clearly we have cleaned up FIFA. This was the first step. We need to lead by example.

“If other steps are needed, we will know it when we have more information, which we don’t have yet. And we hope, of course, that everything will be fine.

“If anyone thinks he can enrich himself with illicit illegal activities around football, he has no place in football.

“This is very, very clear and we will be there for Africa, as we are there for all other continents, and we will make sure that we can help in a very efficient way.”

During his address at the FIFA Congress held in the French capital on Tuesday, Infantino touched on the recent ongoings within CAF but called on the continent to stick together.

“I know there is a certain amount of turbulence. I would like at this difficult point to urge you to always keep your cool and keep the spirit of solidarity. Try to find solutions, not problems,” he said.

“Where there are human beings, there are the strengths of human beings, but also the weaknesses of human beings. So, we need to look into our structures and we need to see how we can act.”

Packaged by Lanre Olabisi

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