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CAF President Issa Hayatou and the African football family are saddened by the death of Orok Oyo Orok, CAF Honorary Vice-President. The 86-year-old football leader died on 10 September in his home town of Calabar, Nigeria. Oyo was general secretary of the Nigeria Football Association from 1960 to 1974, and also served on both the CAF and FIFA Executive Committees. “Oyo was a great visionary leader and also an encyclopaedia of football, we will miss him terribly. ‘Mr Football’, as he was known locally and internationally, was a regular contributor in our meetings, with great ideas,” said Hayatou, who also described Oyo as “truly someone who dedicated his life to the service of football, locally and internationally”.

The CAF Executive Committee concluded its two-day meeting on 19 September at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The board received a positive report on Angola’s preparations to host the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2010 based on a recent visit by a CAF inspection team to assess progress in the construction of football-related facilities and accommodation. The Executive Committee expressed its satisfaction with the inspection report on the hosting facilities for the African Youth Championship in Rwanda, which will be held from ISJanuaryto 1 February 2009. The Executive Committee also welcomed the report presented by the head of the CAF inspection team that recently visited Cote d’lvoire to assess the country’s readiness to host the first edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which will take place between 22 February and 8 March 2009. The number of teams participating in the CHAN final tournament will increase from eight in the first year to 16 in 2011. Sudan will host the second edition of CHAN.

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During a meeting on 21 August, the organising committee of the Africa Cup of Nations (COCAN 2010) in Luanda, Angola, expressed satisfaction at the pace of construction of the four stadiums for the competition. The announcement was made by the executive director of COCAN 2010, Antonio Mangueira, at the end of a meeting headed by the Prime Minister, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos. Mangueria said that the stadiums and other infrastructures would be ready by October or November 2009, while admitting that construction might be delayed in the northern Cabinda province. A total of 100 houses will be built in Camassango, Cabinda, to accommodate the teams, while Luanda and the other provinces will construct new hotels and social housing to meet requirements. He explained that the Africa Cup of Nations would be held in four Angolan cities (Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda and Lubango) as planned, and that the government was doing everything in its power to avoid any hold-ups.
Amadou Diakite, a member of CAF’s Executive Committee and a former member of FIFA’s Executive Committee, was recently appointed technical advisor on sports issues to the President’s office by the government of Mali. Meanwhile, in Guinea, Almamy Camara Kabele, a member of CAF’s Executive Committee, was appointed Defence Minister in Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Soure’s new government.
CAF President Issa Hayatou has sent a message of condolence to the football association of Cameroon (FECAFOOT) following the death of Petcha Laurent, a longstanding member of CAF’s Referees Committee. Laurent passed away in Yaounde on 25 August. Hayatou described Laurent as “a hardworking CAF official who devoted almost his entire life to the development of refereeing in Cameroon and across the continent”. He continued: “His death is not only a loss to his family and to FECAFOOT but also to the entire African football family.”