Issa Hayatou, the influential figure in African football and interim FIFA president during the 2015 corruption crisis, passed away on Thursday at the age of 77.
In an Instagram post, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Saddened to hear of the passing of former CAF president, former FIFA president and interim, FIFA vice-president and FIFA Council member Issa Hayatou. A passionate sports fan, he dedicated his life to sports administration. On behalf of FIFA, condolences go to his family, friends, former colleagues, and all who knew him. Rest in peace.”
Hayatou was also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for 15 years, through 2016, and remained an honorary member.
He died in Paris while the city hosted the Olympics.
Though a national champion runner in track and field, it was in football that Hayatou rose to prominence from his native Cameroon.
Elected to lead the Confederation of African Football in 1988, Hayatou became a FIFA vice president within four years.
In 2002, during a period of deep financial and political turmoil at FIFA, Hayatou challenged then-President Sepp Blatter in an election. Despite support from Europe, Hayatou lost heavily, with a 139-56 result indicating a loss of votes from his African colleagues.
Blatter remained FIFA’s president in 2015 when federal investigations in the United States and Switzerland into alleged corruption in international football led to the removal of a generation of leaders from North and South America, including Blatter himself.
Hayatou succeeded his one-time rival as interim president for four months, steering FIFA toward anti-corruption reforms and an election that brought Infantino to office.
In 2017, Hayatou’s 29-year reign as the head of CAF ended when he lost an election to Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar, who Infantino supported.
Hayatou later faced an investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee and in 2021 was banned from football for one year for an alleged breach of “duty of loyalty” in a commercial rights deal at CAF.
In a separate case, he was reprimanded by the IOC ethics commission in 2011 for accepting a cash payment from the Swiss marketing agency ISL in 1995 when it sold World Cup broadcasting rights for FIFA.
Hayatou was born into a distinguished Cameroonian family; his brother Sadou served as prime minister of Cameroon from 1991 to 1992.
