Nigerian football administrator Samson Adamu has been appointed as the acting Secretary General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), making him the first Nigerian to hold the position since the continent’s football-governing body was founded nearly seven decades ago.
The appointment was approved on Sunday during a CAF congress meeting at the Giza Palace Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, and follows the resignation of Véron Mosengo-Omba, the Swiss-Congolese official who stepped down from the role on the same day.
Adamu, who was first appointed as Director of Competitions in 2018, is well regarded within African football circles for his organizational work on the continent’s major tournaments.
He is widely respected for his role in overseeing competitions such as the Africa Cup of Nations, the CAF Champions League, and the Confederation Cup. He is also the son of former FIFA Council member Amos Adamu, a prominent figure in African football administration.
His predecessor, Mosengo-Omba, said in a statement that he could now “retire with peace of mind,” noting that investigations against him by the Swiss Public Prosecutor’s Office had previously been dropped after no legal basis was found to pursue proceedings.
The Nigerian Football Federation celebrated the news, congratulating Adamu on its official social media channels and describing the appointment as a significant milestone for Nigerian football on the continental stage.
