CAF faces new scandal as governing body has $16 million missing

An audit into the Confederation of African Football, or CAF, found unmarked expenses that totaled $16 million in another scandal. Official accounts and expenditure reports failed to mention $16 million in spending. Those financial numbers apply to the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023. Consequently, there are new musings and reports of scandal within African soccer, which is unfortunately not a new occurrence.

For years, CAF and many of the member nations and clubs within it, have been a part of controversy. Egypt had an unpaid fine that put its World Cup status at risk. Although unrelated to money, Nigeria boycotted an AFCON qualifier against Libya after drama with traveling. This new $16 million in expenses is perhaps the most concerning. This stems from a new CAF government that promised to help with the budget issues that plagued the region.

Appointed in 2021, CAF general secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba promised to lower the deficit that had reached $40 million at the time. Mosengo-Omba even appointed an auditor to clean up the finances for the administration. However, the official audit and compliance committee claimed there was interference. Mosengo-Omba appointing the auditor raised question marks that forced the committee to take a deeper look. That is when it discovered $16 million in expenses without knowing that the confederation spent the money on.

According to the audit and compliance committee, the $16 million still does not have a home. The committee found $12 million was for “technical costs not allocated to clubs, federations, and host countries” in Africa. Then, the other $4 million is, according to the official auditors, vaguely “unrecorded expenses that should be accrued and recorded.”

CAF scandal harms the future of the Confederation

CAF spending $16 million without any trace or benefit is concerning in its own right. However, this is the latest instance of CAF getting in its own way. Soccer in Africa is always going to be more complex due to the financial and geopolitical circumstances in the continent. Yet, the governing body only holds it back from competing on the top level.

For example, Mosengo-Omba said he hired the fraudulent consultant who oversaw the $16 million expenditure because there were no CAF statutes that said he had to find approval before working with a consultant. That is taking advantage of statutes for an underdeveloped confederation. CAF must fix that if it wants to develop further. Then, in another letter, Mosengo-Omba said CAF will extend its 70-year age limit by five years for prospective executive committee members. Everything he does seems to better himself, not soccer in Africa.

We are still one year away from AFCON 2025. Yet, there is no current path that makes it appear CAF is taking steps toward bettering its image. Instead, there is increasing controversy surrounding its member nations and, clearly, the executives in charge of the confederation.

The Guardian reached out to CAF to see if Mosengo-Omba or any other executives would comment on the story. All declined to comment for now, and the investigation into the scandal in CAF is ongoing.

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