Former president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Cameroonian Issa Hayatou, passed away in Paris, on the eve of his 78th birthday.
A key figure in African soccer for decades, Issa Hayatou died at the age of 77. Born on August 9, 1946 in Garoua, in the north of Cameroon, this pure product of the sport devoted a large part of his life to African soccer. President of the Confederation of African Football for almost 30 years, he single-handedly personified CAF until 2017, when he suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar.
His name had become so intertwined with the presidency of the Confederation that it was almost forgotten that he had had another life. And even other lives. But they were all destined for a role in sport, even if this son of a Muslim sultan already had his path mapped out by a wealthy family of influential notables. While his elders gravitated towards politics, becoming Secretary General of the National Assembly (Amadou Hayatou) or Secretary of State for Health (Garga Alim Hayatou), or even Prime Minister (Sadou Hayatou), young Issa chose his own path. It was to be his passion, his profession, his life.
He began by dabbling in athletics, becoming Cameroon champion over 400 and 800 meters, and even taking part in the first-ever All-Africa Games in Brazzaville in 1965. At the same time, he was a member of Cameroon’s national basketball team and a university soccer international in 1964 and 1971. This sports fanatic went on to become a physical education and sports teacher in Yaoundé, but only for a single year. In 1974, he became General Secretary of the Cameroon Football Federation. His rise to the top of Cameroonian soccer began in 1982, when he was appointed Director of Sports at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
In 1984, he became vice-president of the Cameroon Football Federation, and became president of Fecafoot two years later, at the same time as becoming a member of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football.