From rxpgnews.com
Indian elected to top football post in Africa
By RxPG News Service,
Dec 4, 2006 - 9:59:52 PM
Johannesburg, Dec 4 - Suketu Patel, an Indian origin footballer from Seychelles, has been elected president of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations -.
Patel collected seven votes while the other two candidates, Namibia's Petrus Damaseb and former Zambian superstar Kalusha Bwalya, got four and two respectively in the election that was held in Gabarone, the capital of Botswana Saturday.
The election was held after Botswana's Ismail Bhamjee stepped down from the post after being involved in a World Cup 2006 ticket sale scandal.
'COASAFA has to be strong and progress so we support Suketu because we believe he will push the region to a higher level,' South African Football Association president Molefi Oliphant was quoted as saying by Independent Online.
Oliphant had announced South Africa's support for Patel prior to the election.
Patel, re-elected as chairman of the Seychelles Football Federation only last week, a post he has held since 1994, had played as a goalkeeper for Seychelles.
The 54-year-old Indian origin Seychellois has also served in the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football -. He was also a member of the organising committee of FIFA world under-17 championships.
The COSAFA presidency is a key post since the first World Cup in Africa is being hosted by South Africa in 2010, the same year that Angola stages the African Cup of Nations.
COSAFA's 13 members are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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