FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura made an unexpected start to her job of reforming the Confederation of African Football (CAF) by meeting the senior staff of the organisation on Saturday, a day before she was expected to start.
The 'FIFA General Delegate for Africa' arrived in Cairo on Thursday evening and was expected to start work on Sunday - the first working day in Egypt.
However the Senegalese showed the desire to hit the ground running by calling the senior staff to a meeting on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by the CAF President Ahmad Ahmad who introduced the FIFA General Secretary to the senior staff members who attended the meeting.
Samoura attended the meeting with some officials from Fifa who had travelled to help reform the administrative structures of CAF.
Samoura spelt out her vision for the six month she would be in charge of the reform programme before urging the staff to support the mission meant to improve the structures of the continental governing body.
"I'd like to thank @CAF_Online staff for their warm welcome & motivation to push African ⚽️forward. Together we will serve all African Member Assoc's & bring stability, serenity, professionalism & effective ⚽️ development to our continent, where passion for ⚽️is so prevalent," Samoura said after the meeting on Saturday afternoon.
The General Secretary of CAF Mouad Hajji assured Samoura of the staff's full support in carrying out her mission.
Senegalese-born Samoura, an astute administrator with decades of experience at the United Nations, was handed the title of FIFA General Delegate for Africa to take charge of the administrative reforms from August till early next year.
In that period Samoura will propose a professional formula for CAF and conduct a forensic audit.
Together with her selected team from FIFA, who have immense experience in reforming football governing bodies, they will examine the current administrative structures and processes before proposing changes.
The world governing body took the novel step of appointing the FIFA general secretary Samoura, the world’s most powerful woman in football, to supervise the reforms of CAF following recent problems within Africa's governing body.
CAF President Ahmad Ahmad approached FIFA few weeks ago to help reform the financial and administrative management of Africa's governing body in the wake of recent accusations of wrongdoings against his leadership.
Ahmad denies any wrongdoing and insisting some of the accusations leveled against are because of obsolete administrative structures which requires an independent investigation and suggestions for improvement.
Samoura will not be in charge of the day-to-day running of the CAF but will work hand-in-hand with the CAF General Secretary to deliver the much-needed improvement for Africa's governing body.
By this move, the CAF Executive Committee is seeking FIFA’s expertise to assess the current situation in CAF and help accelerate the ongoing reform process.
This roadmap will be implemented under the leadership of the FIFA General Delegate for Africa working hand in hand with the CAF General Secretary, the CAF Administration and a group of experts identified to provide the required expertise to fulfil the objectives of this roadmap.
All work will be undertaken under the supervision of the CAF President and FIFA President, with regular reporting to the CAF Executive Committee.
The roadmap covers three main areas which are Financial transparency, good governance and internal procedures - Efficient and professional organisation of competitions and Growth and development of African football.
The time frame is subject to a six-month extension, at the discretion of FIFA