African football struck by latest controversy with latest allegations over the general secretary’s Caf conduct.
African football hit by fresh allegations over general secretary’s Caf conduct.
It can be revealed that Veron Mosengo-Omba, the general secretary of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), disregarded a recommendation that Pierre-Alain Mounguengui should not be elected to its influential executive committee due to allegations that he had concealed widespread sexual abuse in Gabonese football.
The president of the Gabonese football association (Fegafoot), Mounguengui, has been charged for neglecting to respond to allegations of rape and sexual abuse of underage football players.
Mounguengui has refuted the accusations, and there is no indication that he has been charged with sexual abuse. Mounguengui has not yet been charged, but he was detained for six months while awaiting a decision from the Gabonese authorities. Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Caf, paid him a visit. A final decision on his case is still pending nearly four years later.
All candidates must pass an eligibility test administered by Caf’s governance committee in order to be elected to its exco, which has 24 members, including Motsepe and Mosengo-Omba, and makes important decisions regarding African football, such as the Africa Cup of Nations schedule.
A request for comment regarding the accusations against Mosengo-Omba, who is also accused of operating the company as his “proprietorship” and fostering a poisonous atmosphere of terror in which workers are sacked for criticising him, has not received a response from Caf. It did not elaborate on whether Mosengo-Omba, who is close to Fifa president Gianni Infantino and is thought to have played a significant role in the decision to hold Afcons in four-year cycles starting in 2028, intends to resign from his position upon reaching Caf’s mandatory retirement age of 66.