Fifa's Fatma Samoura to oversee African football reforms

Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura will take up her role as general delegate for Africa for six months starting August 1. Reuters

Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura has been appointed general delegate for Africa for six months starting August 1 as part of ongoing reforms within African football's governing body.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its president Ahmad Ahmad have been in the spotlight after recent governance issues, while he was questioned as part of an inquiry into corruption, breach of trust and forgery in France earlier this month.

He was later released without charge and has dismissed the allegations as "false".

Ahmad proposed the idea of seeking Fifa's expertise to help assess CAF's current situation and speed up reforms aimed at ensuring the organisation operates with "transparency and efficiency".

The notion was unanimously approved by CAF's executive committee, and Samoura and a group of experts will work in tandem with Ahmad and his team to cover a number of areas, in an agreement that can be renewed with the agreement of both parties.

These areas include overseeing operational management of CAF, ensuring the "efficient and professional organisation of all CAF competitions", and supporting the growth and development of football in all African regions.

Samoura, a Senegalese former diplomat, will remain as secretary general of Fifa but will delegate her functions within the administration, according to a joint statement from Fifa and CAF.

African football's leading club competition was thrown into disarray in the run-up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations after the announcement that its showpiece game will have to be replayed, with the Tunisian prime minister weighing in to call the handling of the affair a "farce".

CAF said that the Champions League final between Tunisian giants Esperance de Tunis and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco would be replayed at a neutral venue after the Cup of Nations, which runs from June 21 to July 19.