Is Véron Mosengo Omba poised for return to Africa’s top table via Congo elections?

April 24 – Véron Mosengo Omba former CAF general secretary and ultra-close ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, is not done in Africa just yet.

On May 20 he is one of nine candidates for the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) presidency.

It will be a new chapter and a defining moment for FECOFA which is coming out of a period of being run by a FIFA Normalisation Committee that was imposed in 2021 following an investigation into president Constant Omari for embezzlement of broadcast revenue.

The election provides a lifeline for Swiss national Mosengo Omba to both stay in football and in Africa having been unceremoniously forced out of his role at CAF last month due to being beyond the age limit determined for the post.

His departure was shrouded in multiple allegations of corruption though no wrongdoing was ever proven. However, his standing in the FECOFA elections, formally announced earlier this week has drawn criticism from local candidates regarding those allegations.

Mosengo Omba said that “responsibility, integrity, and transparency” are the key planks in his leadership campaign. This is an ironic statement for many in Africa who have felt the force of Mosengo Omba’s iron fist of ‘democratic’ sports governance.

Importantly for Infantino and CAF president Patrice Motsepe, it would mean that if he was elected the key architect of the ‘new’ CAF remains in the political mix and could quickly return to the confederation’s halls of power as a member of its executive committee.

Africa has been the core of Infantino’s power base.

While the smart money will be on Mosengo Omba and his electioneering, the candidates running against him are nonetheless significant and have a much deeper link to the Congolese game.

Former Portuguese international Aziz Makukula, born in Congo and still an ambassador for the Leopards, has the support of prominent figures in Congolese football, including Dieumerci Mbokani, who is running for vice-president.

Former national team striker Shabani Nonda is also standing.

Both candidates have election platforms of returning the game to those playing it.

Eugène Kabongo, another playing legend of Congolese football, is standing as is Bosco Mwehu, the current president of the Linafoot (DR Congo’s top league) management committee.

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