CAF Extraordinary General Assembly: FIFA boss gets African confederation's backing

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02:55

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has received backing from the Confederation of African Football in his bid for re-election. The Swiss has been in Egypt this week, where he meet with the continent's football chiefs and was told he has their full support. CGTN's Adel El Mahrouky has more.

CAF has held this extraordinary meeting particularly for electing a member for the FIFA Council's Anglophone seat. After two rounds of voting, 35 associations of the General Assembly voted for Malawi's Walter Nyamilandu-Manda. But the man who won the most votes today, however, was FIFA's president Gianni Infantino, after CAF members endorsed his candidacy for president in the 2019 FIFA elections.

GIANNI INFANTINO FIFA PRESIDENT "I am very touched and very grateful to CAF and to all the African Associations who expressed their support for my candidature. It's very important to know that we can continue to work together. We all know about the strength of African football, the passion, the talent that exists. And we all know what we need to do to bring African football forward."

ANDREW KAMANGA ZAMBIAN F.A. PRESIDENT "It's a demonstration of confidence that Africa has shown to Infantino. Clearly, he's on an agenda to develop football. With the introduction for the FIFA Forward which he has explained, that is the basis for investment, as opposed to giving money."

Two days before the Congress began, CAF had doubts on Cameroon's readiness to host the continent's first 24-team African Cup of Nations next year. Egypt used the opportunity to make a move on Sunday in front of Africa's football decision makers, indirectly offering to host the competition.

ASHRAF SOBHY EGYPTIAN MINISTER FOR SPORTS & YOUTH "Egypt is very rich with its youth and sports facilities. We host numerous international sports events all year long. Egyptian sports associations are always keen to organize in the best technical, managerial, and modern way. We will always welcome hosting any CAF event, at any time."

The General Assembly confirmed the that the rights for the Qatar 2020 World Cup will be kept for each national association to manage. Africa's football leaders have also vowed to continue work on finding solutions to Africa's dismal performance in the 2018 Russia World Cup.

ADEL EL MAHROUKY SHARM EL SHEIKH "CAF's Extraordinary General Assembly has concluded without any decisions taken in many crucial football files, but there is one thing they know for sure is that most of its members will be supporting Gianni Infantino for the 2019 FIFA election. AMA, CGTN, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt."