Moroccan football chief Fouzi Lekjaa secures another term on FIFA Council

Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, has successfully retained his seat on the FIFA Council after earning the majority of votes (49) during the Confederation of African Football (CAF) extraordinary general assembly held in Cairo on Wednesday, according to Morocco World News.

The FIFA Council consists of 37 seats, with six dedicated to African representation. Each council member serves a four-year term. It is FIFA’s main decision-making body tasked with setting the vision for FIFA and global football. The position comes with an annual compensation of $250,000, according to Inside World Football.

Among the 12 candidates competing for seats, Egypt’s Hany Abo Rida also maintained his position. Four newcomers joined the council: Souleiman Waberi (Djibouti), Ahmed Yahya (Mauritania), Djibrilla Hamidou (Niger), and Ibrahim Kanizat (Union of the Comoros). Kanizat, the first female vice president of CAF, secured the council’s only female seat.

Lekjaa also extended his tenure on the CAF Executive Committee for a third term, running from 2025 to 2029.

“This vote once again confirms Morocco’s strong presence in African football and reflects the Kingdom’s standing on the continent,” Lekjaa told reporters in Cairo.

Morocco is preparing to host the Africa Cup of Nations this December and will co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.

South African business mogul Patrice Motsepe was re-elected unopposed for a second term as CAF President. The 63-year-old, who first took office in 2021, emphasized the importance of infrastructure development.

"Our priority must be to build more stadiums. At CAF and FIFA, it is our job to continue supporting the development of sports infrastructure across the continent," he reportedly said in his acceptance speech.

CAF reported a $72 million profit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations — a massive increase, 18 times higher than the 2022 edition, according to the BBC.