Ahmad unseats Hayatou as CAF president — after 29 years in power

Ahmad Ahmad, the president of Madagascar Football Federation, has defeated Issa Hayatou to emerge the new president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

After 29 years as president of CAF, Hayatou lost to Ahmad on a voting scale of 34 to 20.

The election, which was held at CAF’s 39th general assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is the first upsetting election since 1988.

Hayatou had been in power since 1988 when he replaced Abdel Mohammad to become the fifth president in the confederation’s history.

The 70-year-old Cameroonian served as the acting FIFA president until February 26, 2016, following the suspension of Sepp Blatter, and a subsequent ban on corruption allegations.

Hayatous contested for FIFA president in 2002, but lost to Blatter, who is the longest serving FIFA president.

Yidnekatchew Tessema, the Ethiopian who served for 15 years, is the only other CAF president to have served for more than 10 years.

Tessema died in 1987.