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The Confederation of African Football have hit back after a PWC audit raised concerns about financial mismanagement
The Confederation of African Football have issued a statement responding to a recent independent audit that raised concerns about the organisation’s book-keeping, reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to transparency.
On Saturday, Reuters shared excerpts from a Price Waterhouse Cooper audit on Caf’s finances between 2017 and 2019.
The 55-page report allegedly includes evidence of “potential elements of mismanagement” and “possible abuse of power”, and claims that the organisations accounting records are “unreliable and not trustworthy.”
Caf have now issued a strong defence to the allegations, and vowed not to let the mismanagement or the past or “misleading reports in some media” derail their ongoing quest for reform.
“The structural changes undertaken by Caf will not be derailed by misleading reports in some media,” read an unsigned statement published on Caf’s official website. “The Caf Executive Committee reserves the right to prosecute all authors of false and unsubstantiated claims in the media and social networks.
“More than 30 years of an outdated and patriarchal management at Caf have resulted in important shortcomings at all levels of operations. The Executive Committee’s commitment for a new chapter based on international best practices motivated its decision to launch a comprehensive audit of Caf operations, during its meeting on April 11th 2019.
“Additionally, it was the Executive Committee which requested a six-month partnership with Fifa to accelerate the reforms it had initiated.”
The PWC report may well heap further pressure on Caf President Ahmad Ahmad, less than a week after world football’s governing body Fifa ended their six-month supervision period of the confederation.
This came amidst a series of corruption scandals, with Ahmad detained and questioned by French police in mid-2019 ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, as part of a broader investigation.
“Several sweeping governance and operational measures have already been implemented before and during the six-month partnership with Fifa,” the statement continued. “Caf will persevere on this path to ensure that we achieve the highest international standards.
“Also, we need to set the right level of expectations. It would not be realistic to pretend that those structural changes can all take place in a matter of weeks. Rather, the Executive Committee is fully committed to achieving this ambition during its tenure.
“The Executive Committee has scheduled a meeting for February 14 2020 to validate the 2020-2021 Caf roadmap which will take into accounts all the recommendations.
“Regular and transparent communication will ensure that all observers and African football enthusiasts can evaluate the progress towards a new Caf.”
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