African football: CAF reportedly in disarray

Football’s governing body in Africa has been shown to be in a state of disarray, an audit has revealed.

The investigation into the Confederation of African Football (Caf) questioned the body’s accounting, its governance, and its payments.

Caf’s presidential office was “directly involved” in the controversial decision to employ Tactical Steel, a little-known gym equipment manufacturer, to become a key supplier of sportswear.
The audit highlighted transactions totalling more than $20m (£15.4m) which either have “little or no supporting documentation” or were considered “higher risk”.

One area the PwC audit suggested further investigating was “the role played” by Caf President Ahmad and his attaché, Loic Gerand, among others, in the deal with French company Tactical Steel. The company’s financial dealings with Caf were described as “highly suspicious”.

Mr Ahmad has already strenuously denied any wrongdoing with regard to this case.

The forensic audit – which was complicated by Caf’s tendency to make most of its payments in cash – also suggested considerable reforms were needed throughout Caf.

The organisation’s structure was described as being over-reliant on decisions made by the executive committee (ExCo), despite the latter meeting “once a quarter, resulting in delays in key decision-making and preventing managers of Caf departments from making timely business-critical decisions”.