Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has endorsed Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya as its candidate for the CAF executive member position.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to hold its elective general assembly in July next year and coincidentally, the seat is currently occupied by immediate-past FAM president Walter Nyamilandu.
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Cosafa endorsed Haiya during its elective annual general meeting in South Africa on Saturday.
In a post on his Facebook page, he said: “I am humbled and honoured by the unanimous endorsement and trust bestowed upon me by all Cosafa presidents to represent our region at continental level as Cosafa’s candidate.
“I sincerely thank all the Cosafa presidents for the confidence and unity demonstrated through this collective decision.”
On the way forward, in an interview yesterday, Haiya said: “I will continue to contribute towards the transformation of Cosafa and wait for the time of confirmation during the CAF elections.”
He also congratulated the new Cosafa leadership led by its president Tariq Babitseng, who is president of Botswana Football Association .
Said Haiya: “I wish the newly-elected leadership the very best as together we continue working towards transforming Cosafa and advancing football within our region.
“I equally extend my sincere appreciation and best wishes to the outgoing executive committee for their service, commitment and contribution to the growth and stability of Cosafa during their tenure.”
With FAM set to nominate Haiya, it means Nyamilandu cannot seek re-election as a candidate has to be nominated by his or her association.
But in interview yesterday, Nyamilandu said he was on his way out of football administration.
“I am done with football and I am winding up my term as I have a year left before I take a bow,” he said.
Nyamilandu won the CAF executive member Cosafa slot in July 2023 after beating the then incumbent Mohamed Ally Sobha of Mauritius by 35 votes against 15.
In 2018, he was elected to the Fifa Council after defeating South Africa Football Association president Danny Jordaan by 35 votes to 18 after two rounds of voting.
This was after Cosafa had endorsed Jordaan.
