The Confederation of African Football (CAF) recently appointed Samson Adamu of Nigeria as its new general-secretary. Adamu’s confirmation was announced on November 1, 2026, by the CAF Executive Committee. Before the appointment, Adama had occupied the role in acting capacity since March 2026.

According to CAF president, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, the appointment followed a comprehensive recruitment process, during which the position was widely advertised and several candidates were interviewed. Adamu is coming to the job with lots of experience. He studied Business Management and Computer Science at the American University of Paris and completed FIFA Master postgraduate programme in 2009. Before coming to FIFA, he worked for a decade with Kinetic Sport Management.

Adamu joined CAF in 2018 as Director of Competitions. He later became Director of Tournaments and Events. Following the resignation of Veron  Mossengho-Omba as Secretary General of CAF in  2025, he had been acting General Secretary since March 2026 before his latest appointment. With this appointment, Adamu became the first Nigerian to occupy the General-Secretary position of CAF. We congratulate him on his elevation.

The position of CAF’s General-Secretary is very sensitive. He functions as the chief administrative officer of the organisation tasked with overseeing the daily operations, management, and administrative activities of the CAF secretariat. In his new capacity, Adamu will act as the primary communication link and point of contact between CAF, its 54 member football associations, staff, and external stakeholders.

He will also oversee and support the planning, coordination, and delivery of major continental tournaments, including the glamorous CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). These are demanding tasks that call for dedication, expertise and a test of character. We urge him to discharge his responsibility assiduously.  He should not to let Nigerians and Africans down in the implementation of strategic programmes of the confederation, in compliance with CAF regulations.

Adamu should work in concert with the CAF President, who chairs the Executive Committee of the confederation, to reposition CAF as the best continental football organisation in the globe. He has a lot of experience since 2018 when he joined the confederation as a director to deliver in his new administrative role. He should work hard to develop Nigerian and African football.

The new CAF General-General will work with the Executive Committee to ensure that African teams at the FIFA World Cup don’t just make up the numbers. Despite producing the bulk of football talents at major European clubs, no African team has won the FIFA World Cup. Rather, quarter and semi finals appearances by African national teams are celebrated like trophies. Africa should not celebrate mediocrity when Europe and the Americas are winning the major football trophies. African national teams should aggregate the individual brilliance of their star players in Europe to form formidable national teams capable of making the continent proud.

Adamu should use his position to enhance the growth of football in the country. He should support grassroots football in the country as well as the local league. The local league has unfortunately lost steam in recent times. The nation’s football needs urgent funding and revamping at all levels. Football development is top notch in countries like South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Let us emulate these countries in reorganising out football.

While these leagues attract the best crop of players from their countries and across Africa, most of the stadia  hosting local league matches in Nigeria are almost half-empty.  The overreliance on foreign based players to fill the national team roster must not be allowed to become the norm. There is need to groom new talents.

The Nigerian league attained its pinnacle in continental competitions when Enyimba of Aba won the CAF Champions league back to back. Today, Nigerian teams struggle to make it out of the group stages of continental league competitions. Former CAF President, Issah Hayatou, advanced the interests of Cameroonian football during his era in CAF that saw the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon emerge one of the greatest teams on the continent.

The new CAF scribe should help the reorganisation and administration of football in Nigeria and strive to make our league one of the best on the continent. We congratulate Adamu on his new appointment and wish him a successful tenure.

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