Pinnick Loses Bid for FIFA Council Re-election

Amaju Melvin Pinnick, the former head of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), did not win re-election to the FIFA Council. The vote occurred at the 14th Extraordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt.

The election was highly competitive, with delegates from African football casting votes to pick the continent’s representatives on the FIFA Council. Fouzi Lekjaa received the most votes at 49, securing his seat easily. Hani Abou Rida and Djibrilla Hima Hamidou each got 35 votes.

Ahmed Yahya and Souleiman Hassan Waberi from Djibouti both earned 29 votes, just one more than Pinnick, who got 28 votes.

Pinnick, who has been on the FIFA Council since 2021, hoped to continue influencing global football but was narrowly defeated.

Other candidates like Andrew Kamanga, Yacine Diallo, and Augustin Senghor received fewer votes and did not qualify, while Mathurin de Chacus withdrew before the final count.

In the women’s category, Kanizat Ibrahim was victorious with 30 votes, while Lydia Nsekera and Isha Johansen received 13 and 7 votes, respectively.

Africa has seven seats on the FIFA Council, one of which is specifically for the CAF president. Pinnick’s failure to win re-election marks a significant shift in African football leadership.