Confederation of African Football (CAF) - Cameroonian Issa Hayatou was unanimously re-elected on Sunday president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a new term that runs until 2017.
Hayatou, 66, ran unopposed at the 35th ordinary general assembly of the continental body held in Marrakech, central Morocco.
Hayatou was elected for the first time as the head of CAF in 1988 in Morocco on the sidelines of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ivorian Jacques Anouma wanted to challenge Hayatou at this CAF general assembly, but a change to the election rules disqualified him.
Anouma's attempt to overturn the decision to disqualify non-executive members from the election was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Hayatou, who has already declared that this will be his last contest for the CAF presidency, is the fifth CAF president and by far the longest serving.
His predecessors are Ethiopian Ydnekatchew Tessema, who served 15 years, Egyptian Abdel Aziz Moustafa (10 years), Sudanese Abdel Halim Mohammad (5 years) and Egyptian Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem (1 year).
Among those who attended the opening of the general assembly were the presidents of the 54 national associations and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Blatter hailed Hayatou's leadership of African football over the last quarter of a century, saying African football has become world famous and has made commendable strides during this period.
He also commended Morocco for the continued development of its football infrastructure and recent launch of its professional league.
The FIFA President added: 'As a result, Morocco will become the first African nation to host FIFA World Club Cup in December this year and that is in recognition of the enormous work Morocco has undertaken.'
Pana 11/03/2013