The introduction of a new sponsor came as a surprise to the followers of the CAF Awards especially as Globacom had been associated with the awards since 2001.
Speaking at the a media briefing in Accra on Wednesday, Ahmad Ahmad revealed that Globacom broke its relationship with CAF without any reasons and AITEO was very open to taking their place.
“Why did we choose AITEO? It is because three months to the event, Glo pulled out. AITEO President, Benedict Peters jumped in without hesitation and so, AITEO became the new sponsor of the event.
In addition, they have offered more than Globacom.”
Ahmad explained CAF’s decision to scrap the Best Player based in Africa award.
The award was initially conceptualised to celebrate the efforts of players who excelled on in Africa since most winners of the main CAF Player of the Year award went to players who plied their trade outside Africa.
Ahmad said that CAF was dedicated to excellence and so, one main award would urge players in Africa to work hard enough to get it.
He also spoke about the scrapping of the Best Referee Award and he stated that awarding referees in public held the possibility of “corrupting match officials”. He added that the referees who had worked hard were rewarded by getting the best high-profile matches and for CAF, that was just recognition of their efforts.
Ahmad expressed his gratitude to all those who had supported the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in organising the 2017 edition which would come off in Accra on January 4.
Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will compete for the ultimate prize of the 2017 CAF AITEO Best Player.
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