Sports minister witnesses CAF general assembly meeting

SHARM EL SHEIKH - 30 September 2018: Minister of Sport and Youth Ashraf Sobhi witnessed on Sunday the extraordinary meeting of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) General Assembly held in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and CAF President Ahmad Ahmad.

Addressing the meeting, Sobhi described sports as one of the important bridges to enhance interaction and interrelation among nations. It is also one of the meas for spreading peace, accepting the other and rejecting hatred and fanaticism, he added.

The minister asserted Egypt's confidence in CAF's vision to achieve more progress and prosperity for the African football, appreciating CAF's decision to increase the number of African teams to 24 instead of 16 ahead of holding the upcoming round of the African Championship in summer.

Meanwhile, CAF President Ahmed Ahmed said it was a right decision to hold CAF's general assembly meeting in Sharm El Sheikh for the first time, extending his greetings to FIFA president over the success of the World Cup Championship held in Russia.

Ahmed also said he is keen on leaving a lasting impression on the visitors over the new methods of CAF while taking serious decision that would define the future of African football.

The meeting is likely to discuss the fate of the 2019 African Cup of Nations scheduled to be held in Cameroon.

The status of the Lagardere contract with CAF will also be tabled while the election of a representative on the FIFA Council of the Anglophone bloc of CAF will also be chosen.