Amaju Pinnick Loses FIFA Council Re-Election as Africa Picks New Representatives
Cairo, Egypt – Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, has failed in his bid to retain his seat on the FIFA Council, missing out by a single vote in a fiercely contested election.
Pinnick, who previously secured a spot on the council in 2021, garnered 28 votes at the 14th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Extraordinary General Assembly held in Cairo on Wednesday. However, he fell just short of the cut-off needed to claim one of the six available slots allocated to Africa.
The newly elected FIFA Council members from the continent include Morocco’s Faouzi Lekjaa, Mauritania’s Ahmed Yahya, Kanizat Ibrahim of Comoros, Djibouti’s Souleiman Waberi, Niger’s Hamidou Djibrilla, and Egypt’s Hani Abo Rida. Yahya and Waberi, who secured the final two positions, edged out Pinnick by a single vote.
The FIFA Council, the global football governing body’s top decision-making arm outside the FIFA Congress, consists of 37 members serving four-year renewable terms. With his exit, Pinnick becomes the first Nigerian in recent history to serve only a single term on the council, following in the footsteps of compatriots Oyo Orok Oyo and Amos Adamu, who previously held similar roles.
Pinnick’s tenure saw him play a key role in African football politics, leveraging his influence to secure Nigeria’s presence on the international stage. His departure from the council marks a shift in power dynamics within African football administration.
Meanwhile, South African billionaire and mining magnate Patrice Motsepe has been re-elected unopposed for a second term as CAF president, further cementing his leadership over African football’s governing body.
Pinnick, a two-term NFF president between 2014 and 2022, was succeeded by Ibrahim Gusau. His failure to retain his FIFA Council seat raises questions about Nigeria’s influence in global football politics moving forward.
