Monrovia – Liberia Football Association (LFA) President Musa Hassan Bility wants to become one of 18 executive committee members (ECMs) of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in March.
Report by Danesius Marteh, [email protected]
Mr. Bility is against incumbent Amadou Diakite of Mali for the west zone ‘A’ seat for 2017 to 2021.
He lost to Diakite and Senegal’s Augustin Senghor in the western zone ‘A’ at CAF 35th general assembly in Marrakech, Morocco on March 10, 2013.
He was rejected by the FIFA adhoc electoral committee in November 2015 from contesting the February 2016 elections, having failed integrity checks.
Mr. Bility didn’t contest the elections in September 2016 to complete Africa’s representation on the expanded FIFA Council for fear of being rejected but is free to contest in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because there will be no integrity checks as was done by FIFA.
CAF President Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and ECM Ahmad, who is also President of Madagascar Football Association, will contest for the presidency.
The decision to hold elections was one of many deliberations passed on by CAF at an executive committee meeting in Libreville, Gabon on January 12.
Incumbent Anjorin Moucharafou of Benin and Nigeria’s Amaju Melvin Pinnick will vie for west zone ‘B’.
Candidates in the northern zone are incumbent Mohamed Raouraoua of Algeria, Libya’s Anwar El Tashani and Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco while Chad’s Adoum Djibrine is the sole candidate for the central zone.
Incumbent Magdi Shams El Din of Sudan, Uganda’s Moses Magogo, Suleiman Hassan Waberi of Djibouti and Ethiopia’s Juneidi Basha Tilmo are the candidates for the central east zone.
There are four contenders for two posts in the southern zone with incumbent Suketu Patel of Seychelles, who is CAF first vice President, against Danny Jordaan of South Africa, Namibia’s Frans Mbidi and Rui Eduardo Da Costa of Angola.
Isha Johansen of Sierra Leone and Burundi’s Lydia Nsekera, who is a FIFA Council member, will vie for the only seat reserved for a woman.
The elections for FIFA Council for 2017 to 2021, subject to eligibility confirmation by FIFA, will also be held.
Tunisia’s Tarek Bouchamaoui, who is a CAF ECM, is the only candidate for the Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish bloc.
DR Congo’s Constant Omari Selemani, who is a CAF ECM, and Augustin Sidy Diallo of Cote d’Ivoire are in the Francophone bloc.
Ghana’s Kwesi Nyantakyi, who is a FIFA Council member, Tanzania’s Leodegar Tenga and Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya, who are CAF ECMs, are in the Anglophone grouping.
There are three open applications, including a female member with CAF second Vice President Almamy Kabele Camara of Guinea, who is a FIFA Council member, South Sudan’s Chabur Goc, Hani Abo Rida of Egypt, Lydia and Jordaan as contestants.
Down memory lane
It was a second failed attempt by Liberia also four years ago.
Like Edwin Snowe, Bility didn’t succeed in becoming the first Liberian to serve as CAF ECM.
Mr. Bility got seven votes while Senghor received 12 votes and Diakite got 35 votes.
He has since been boasting about his international recognition in world and African football politics.
During the 2011 FIFA Presidential elections, Bility supported Mohamed Bin Hammam, who subsequently banned from football for life after being found guilty of attempted bribery (attempting to buy votes).
FIFA ethics committee made the decision on June 18 after a two-day hearing.
The 62-year-old Qatari withdrew from the election, leaving Sepp Blatter to be re-elected unopposed.
A declaration of support from Bility to Hammam, claiming the reported backing of the West African Football Union (WAFU), led CAF, who was supporting Blatter, to disband WAFU at an executive committee meeting in Cairo on May 16, 2011.
During the 2015 FIFA Presidential elections, Bility supported Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, claiming Blatter needed to give way to new leaders with fresh ideas.
Blatter was reelected after Ali, who had forced a second round of voting but withdrew, in a vote overshadowed by arrests and corruption allegations in May. Blatter resigned in June amid the corruption probe.
After his rejection, Bility supported Ali, who got 27 votes, during the special elections in Zurich, Switzerland in February 2016 behind Gianni Infantino with 88 votes and Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa with 85 votes.
In the second round, Ali got four votes while Infantino won with 115 votes and Al-Khalifa got 88 votes.
Bility phoned major radio stations in Monrovia, claiming he played a key role in Infantino’s election although Ali was still in the race and he didn’t announce his support for the Swiss-Italian.
When Infantino visited Abuja in July 2016 to meet a legion of African FA Presidents to renew FIFA’s commitment towards developing football in Africa and promote corporate support in Nigeria, Bility claimed he was elected President of the Anglophone countries.
A total of 17 FA Presidents were available at the meeting.
They were Nyantakyi (Ghana), Johansen (Sierra Leone), Bility (Liberia), Tilmo (Ethiopia), Mbidi (Namibia), Alei (South Sudan), Magogo (Uganda), Senghor (Senegal), Waberi (Djibouti), Lamin Kaba Bajo (The Gambia), Nicholas Kithuku (Kenya), Andrew Chamanga (Zambia), Philip Chiyangwa (Zimbabwe), Walter Nyamilandu (Malawi), Abdiqani Said Arab (Somalia), Vincent Nzamwita (Rwanda) and Jamal Malinzi (Tanzania).
So Bility has been struggling at the international stage but faming his perceived international ratings at several press conferences in Monrovia.