Former President of Ghana
Football Association(GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi has been named as a beneficiary of a
pilgrimage trip to Mecca which was sponsored by banned CAF president, Ahmad
Ahmad.
Recall on Thursday that Ahmad
Ahmad was served by a 5-year ban by World Football governing body, FIFA.
In a statement released by FIFA,
Ahmad Ahmad breached 4 articles of the FIFA Code of Ethics which constituted
his ban.
Ahmad Ahmad had been under investigation by FIFA’s
Ethics Committee for the period between 2017 and 2019, over irregularities concerning CAF-related governance issues.
According to a FIFA statement, Ahmad was found guilty
of, among many governance issues, using CAF money to finance an Umrah
pilgrimage to Mecca for 11 other African FA presidents including Nyantakyi.
The total cost of sponsoring the trip for the FA
heads came up to 669,375 Egyptian Pounds, approximately $42,000.
The Umrah pilgrimage is an Islamic pilgrimage to
Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi
Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the Ḥajj,
which has specific dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar.
Nyantakyi’s trip to Mecca was from 17th May 2018 to 25th May
2018.
The former
FIFA Council Member and CAF 1st Vice President was handed a lifetime ban from
football in 2018 after FIFA found him guilty of multiple infractions of the
FIFA Code of Ethics.
He was also
fined 500,000 Swiss Francs ($498,000).
Below is the
list of the CAF presidents who benefitted from the Umrah trip:
1. Juneidi Basha
Tilmo – Ethiopia FA.
2. Lamin Kaba
Bajo – Gambia FA.
3. Jamal Saleh
Eljaafri
4. El Franck Ben
Ahamady
5. Moses Magogo
Hassim – Uganda FA.
6. Souleiman
Hassan Waberi – Djibouti FA.
7. Hany Hassan
Abou Rida – Ex- Egypt FA
8. Ahmed Yahya –
Mauritania FA
9. Samir Mohamad
Ally Sobha – Mauritius FA
10. Sita Sangare –
Burkina Faso FA.
11. Ahmad Ahmad –
CAF president.
12. Kwesi
Nyantakyi – Ex-GFA
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