MANCHESTER, England – The head of African football, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned from football for five years by FIFA following an ethics investigation by world soccer’s governing body.

Ahmad, who is president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had intended to stand in an election in March in which he would have faced a number of challengers.

FIFA said in a statement the independent Ethics Committee has found Ahmad guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, and misappropriation of funds.

FIFA had “sanctioned him with a ban from all football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level for five years,” it said.

It also fined him 200,000 Swiss francs (US$200,000).

Ahmad declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe has been nominated as a candidate for the leadership of CAF as the race for the top post in African football gathers momentum.

Motsepe’s candidacy was announced by the South African Football Association at a news conference last week with support from Botswana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

“His business acumen makes him a revolutionary choice to change the landscape of African football and make the game on the continent more profitable,” said SAFA president Danny Jordaan.

The 58-year-old mining magnate, Ahmad of Madagascar and the Ivorian Jacques Anouma, a former FIFA executive committee member, are the candidates who filed nomination papers, before Ahmad’s disqualification.

Motsepe is the owner of South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns and has pumped millions into making the club the dominant force in domestic competition plus regular contenders for continental honours. They won the African Champions League four years ago.

Anouma announced his intention to run at two weeks ago while Ahmad was endorsed by 46 of the 54 CAF member countries in a collective statement last month.

Ahmad, a former minister in Madagascar, won a dramatic election in 2017 when he deposed the long-standing incumbent Issa Hayatou of Cameroon. However, his tenure has been dogged by allegations of embezzlement and the sacking of whistleblowers at CAF headquarters in Cairo.

Ahmad was taken in for questioning by French police in Paris last year amid allegations a French company was involved in the alleged corruption.

The CAF elections are set for Rabat on March 12. – Reuters