Ghana FA Petitioned to Review CAF President Over South Africa Xenophobia Concerns
A political activist and a lawyer have petitioned the Ghana Football Association to initiate a continental process reviewing the continued suitability of Dr Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe as President of the Confederation of African Football, citing a growing contradiction between CAF’s stated commitment to African unity and South Africa’s recurring xenophobic violence against fellow Africans.
The petition, filed by Solomon Owusu and Andrew Appiah-Danquah and addressed to the GFA President through the Executive Council, argues that CAF’s leadership must carry moral legitimacy and symbolic credibility commensurate with the organisation’s role as one of Africa’s most visible continental institutions.
“Football is not merely a sport in Africa. It is one of the few institutions capable of bringing together Africans across linguistic, religious, ethnic, and national boundaries,” the petitioners stated. “The President of CAF therefore serves not merely as an administrator but as a symbol of African unity.”
The petition traces the roots of the concern to what it describes as repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence in South Africa directed primarily at citizens of other African countries. Physical attacks, destruction of businesses, displacement, intimidation, and loss of life have, the petitioners argue, significantly damaged perceptions of African solidarity. The government of Ghana has previously advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to South Africa amid a sharp rise in such attacks, and parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair has praised the swift evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa during the most recent crisis.
While acknowledging that responsibility for xenophobic acts does not attach to any individual citizen, the petitioners contend that the persistence of these incidents has created a crisis of confidence regarding South Africa’s commitment to Pan-African ideals. They note that the liberation of South Africa from apartheid was made possible through the sacrifices of the entire African continent, and that expectations of solidarity are therefore “necessarily higher than those imposed upon many other states.”
CAF has consistently positioned itself as an opponent of racism, discrimination, and exclusion, and the petitioners argue that these principles are fundamental to the organisation’s credibility. When Africans perceive a contradiction between those values and the national environment from which the president emerges, they say, CAF’s moral authority is weakened.
The petition makes five specific requests of the Ghana Football Association: placing concerns about the contradiction between CAF’s anti-discrimination principles and its current leadership symbolism before the relevant CAF statutory organs; initiating consultations with other African football associations on the matter; sponsoring a formal review of leadership accountability within CAF; promoting stronger ethical and Pan-African leadership criteria for future office holders; and, where appropriate, supporting a motion for leadership renewal.
The petitioners position Ghana as uniquely placed to raise such concerns, citing the country’s role as the home of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat and its historical significance as the nation of Kwame Nkrumah. “Ghana possesses both the moral authority and historical responsibility to raise concerns affecting the integrity of continental institutions,” they stated.
The GFA has not yet issued a public response to the petition. The development adds a new dimension to the broader debate about whether Africa’s continental sporting bodies should be held to account for the political and social conduct of the nations from which their leaders hail.
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