20100924
africanews

The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, has nominated Moroccan-born Hicham El Amrani as the interim Secretary General of the African football governing body. This was the gist of the CAF Executive Committee meeting, chaired by its President, Issa Hayatou, at the institution's headquarter in Cairo, Egypt.

Amrani, who officially begins his newfound responsibilities at CAF, Friday, October 1 replaces the Egyptian National, Mustapha Fahmy, who has moved house to FIFA as the Director of Competitions.

While expressing gratitude to the members of the CAF Executive Committee for a job well done, in the search of a new scribe for the body, Hayatou commended Fahmy for his selfless service, dedication to CAF and his contribution to the development of African football during his 28-year sojourn with the institution. “This house will continue to be yours,” Hayatou told Fahmy.

Moved by the praises showered on him and tears running down his cheeks, Fahmy, who came to CAF in 1978, said he is giving up many things as he leaves CAF to FIFA, but “I will remain a committed servant of the African football. As I move on to Zurich for my newfound assignments, it is part of Africa that I am taking out there to install at the FIFA headquarter,” Fahmy told CAFonline.

Now, interim Secretary General of CAF, Amrani is not a new kid on the block. He joined CAF on March 15 2009 as the Deputy Secretary General. Before that, he was the Marketing Manager for the Confederation of Asian Football. Working with Fahmy, Amrani developed a deep interest in African football, learnt a lot from the savvy of his boss and took with keen interest the advice of Fahmy, who will be giving him the relay baton in the days ahead.