LAUSANNE: Jacques Anouma has seen his last faint chance of ousting Issa Hayatou as president of the African confederation wiped away by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Cameroon, president since 1987 and also a member of the International Olympic Committee, will thus be re-elected unopposed at a CAF congress on Sunday in Marrakech,Morocco.

Ivory Coast director Anouma had wanted to challenge long-serving Hayatou at the CAF elections next Sunday but was halted in his tracks when supporters of Hayatou pushed through a statutes switch last September.

This laid down that any presidential candidates must be elected members of the CAF executive committee which ruled out Anouma even though he is member of the exco of world governing body FIFA.

The Ivorien federation went ahead and nominated Anouma anyway but this was rejected by the CAF exco.

Justification

Last December Anouma appealed to CAS, requesting confirmation of his candidacy for the election of 10 March 2013. He also asked CAS to be placed temporarily on the list of candidates for the CAF presidential election.

The request for interim measures was rejected on January 10 by CAS which has now approved CAF’s justification and the appropriateness of the statutes.

Anouma, a 58-year-old accountant, has criticised last year’s manoeuvre by supporters of Hayatou – notably Algerian federation president Mohamed Raouraoua – as “scandalous.”Ivory Coast sports minister Philippe Legre described the amendment as a “political ruse” while Senegal FA president August Senghor considered it “a setback for democracy.”

# # # # #