Walter in no hurry
While some aspirants have already declared their interest to contest in next year’s Fifa Council polls, FAM president Walter Nyamilandu says he is undecided on whether to seek re-election.
A Ugandan newspaper, The Observer, last week reported that Uganda Football Association president Moses Magogo and his Kenyan counterpart Nick Mwendwa have expressed interest to vie for the Anglophone seat currenly held by Nyamilandu.
But in an interview on Saturday, Nyamilandu said: “It’s early days. I will make a firm decision by the end of the year.”
On whether he is moved by reports that some aspirants have intensified their campaign, the FAM president chuckled and said: “They are only exercising their right. As the saying goes, an early bird catches the worm.”
Nyamilandu pulled a shocker in 2018 when he defeated his South African counterpart Danny Jordaan by 35 votes to 18 after two rounds of voting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The pair had been in a three-way vote along with former Tanzania Football Federation president Leodgar Tenga, who dropped out in the first round.
Then, Mwendwa and Elvis Chetty, president of the Seychelles FA, withdrew from the election before the first round.
The Fifa Council is the main decision-making arm of world football’s governing body, with members drawn from each of the sport’s regional confederations.
The CAF position on the Fifa Council became open following the resignation of former Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi who was filmed by an investigative journalist appearing to take a $65 000 (about K49 million) bribe.
Nyantakyi left his role on the Fifa Council and stepped aside from his roles with CAF, including as first vice-president, the most senior figure at the confederation after its president, Ahmad Ahmad.
He also resigned as president of the Ghana FA.
The Fifa Council membership goes with hefty perks and according to Fifa 2017 financial statement, each of the 37 elected council members are entitled to a $250 000 stipend per year (about K187.5 million.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, on the other hand, gets $1.5 million (K1.1 billion) per year.
Apart from the salary, the council members are also entitled to an additional $150 each (about K112 500) per diem as well as business-class travel and accommodation while attending Fifa meetings and events.
At the end of a four-year term, the Fifa Council members are eligible to a pension. The association pays gives $9 000 (about K6.8 million) for each year’s service, paid for the equal number of years upon the council member leaving.
The perks, structured by Fifa’s Compensation Sub-Committee, which is responsible for defining the individual annual compensation of the Fifa president, vice-presidents and members of the Council, are way above the average pay for executives both in sports and other organisations.
