Billionaire Patrice Mozebi, who grew up in the South African town of Soweto, was elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), although his biography is relatively unknown to the world of sports outside his country.
The businessman assumed the presidency of the continental federation by acclamation today, Friday, due to the absence of competitors after he remained the only candidate for this position following the withdrawal of his three competitors earlier, as required by the laws of the federation.
In a brief speech after recommending him, Mozippi expressed his “thanks and gratitude” for his choice of this position, which he described as “a great honor.”
He added, “I also thank Gianni (Infantino President of the International Federation) and his encouragement to work within the framework of the unity, we will not raise the challenges that face us unless we are united.”
The road was paved for Mozebi to head the African Union in the elections that took place in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, after the withdrawal of his three rivals, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport kept Malagasy President Ahmed Ahmed detained for two years due to corruption cases.
Mozebi is considered the tenth richest man in the African continent, and among the three richest people in South Africa, with an estimated wealth of $ 2.9 billion, according to the American Forbes magazine, he is the elegant self-made man of 59 years who made his fortune from mines and businesses.
And Mozebi had received the support of the president of the International Federation of FIFA, after the latter suggested early in the month to the other candidates to agree on South Africa, who remained silent in the media until his program was announced two weeks ago.
Regarding his motives for running for the presidency of the African Union, the businessman simply says, “I love football. Stupid and irresponsible love.”
The candidacy of Mozebi appeared strange in the face of the Mauritanian trio, Ahmed Ould Yahya, Ivorian Jacques Anoma and Senegalese Augustan Senghor, who all held or hold the position of presidency of the Football Association in their countries.
A simple election campaign allowed him to meet with the leaders who will vote on Friday, and some admitted behind the scenes that they did not know him before his meeting.
Others were surprised by his involvement with the challenges facing “CAF” in the next four years.
He also had the important support of Nigerian Confederation President Amaju Pinnick, which he provided to his colleagues.
Mozebi was known for his success in business and commerce, and grew up in the large town of Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg. His parents, who work in commerce, enrolled him in a Catholic school, before he majored in mining law, business administration and the arts.
His father was a professor at a school and later became the owner of a shop that was frequented mainly by black miners. He helped his father in the store during school holidays, learning the principles of work.
With the end of apartheid in the early 1990s in his country, he became the first black partner of a law firm in South Africa. He took advantage of the new atmosphere of life in the country that hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the collapse of the price of gold, and bought several mines at good prices in the late 1990s.
In 1997, he established the “African Rainbow Minerals Good Limited” company specializing in the extraction of copper, platinum, iron and coal.
His fortune allowed him to buy Mamelodi Sun Downs football club, located in Pretoria, which has since won the 2016 African Champions League and seven domestic league titles.
In recent days, he announced that he would relinquish his post to his son, should he win the continental elections.
Mozebi also owns a 37 percent stake in the Bulls, the most successful club in the domestic rugby league.
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He is married and has three children. He is also the son-in-law of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
His sister Tchibo is married to the current head of state. His other sister, Brigitte, is the wife of Geoff Radebe, a member of the ruling party African National Congress.
In 2013 Mozebi pledged to donate half of his fortune to charity as part of the “Giving Plan” campaign launched by Americans Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
The wealthy businessman also pledged to allocate 1 billion rand (55.7 million euros) to fight the Coronavirus pandemic in Africa.
Source: AFP
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