Issa Hayatou

Issa Hayatou played on the national Cameroon basketball team and was a top runner, setting national records in the 400 and 800 metres. He studied at Yaoundé University, after which he became secretary-general of the Cameroonian Football Association in 1974. He was named vice-president in 1984 and served as President from 1986-88.

From 1982-86 Hayatou was director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Cameroon. He became President of the African Football Confederation in 1988, holding that position until 2017. Hayatou was named to the Executive Committee of FIFA in 1990 and became vice-president in 1992. He ran for the Presidency in 2002 but was defeated by Sepp Blatter. He chaired the organizing committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and chaired FIFA’s Olympic Committee from 1992-2006.

When FIFA President Sepp Blatter was suspended in October 2015 Hayatou took over the leadership of FIFA until the election of Gianni Infantino in February 2016. Hayatou was chosen as an IOC Member in 2001, serving on the following commissions: Women and Sport (1996-2015), Coordination for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008 (2002-08), and Women in Sport (2015-17).

In 2010-11 articles published by the BBC and The Sunday Times alleged that Hayatou had taken bribes from Qatar during their bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was investigated by the IOC Ethics Commission but was exonerated. Hayatou remained an IOC Member until 2016, after which he was made an Honorary Member.