A page will soon be turned at FIFA. The secretary general of the body, the Senegalese Fatma Samoura (photo above), will return the keys to her office in Zurich. She will leave office at the end of the year.
FIFA announced this on Wednesday June 14 in a press release. The official reason: the desire of the number 2 of the body, who made history as the first woman – and the first non-European – to access such a function, to consecrate “ more time to (her) family. » Aged 60, Fatma Samoura is the mother of three children.
The announcement of his resignation was planned for next week, during a meeting of the FIFA Council. But Fatma Samoura preferred to anticipate, to put an end to the rumors and speculation announcing her departure.
FIFA has not given any details on his succession to the post of secretary general, but the name of the Swede Mattias Grafström, the current deputy secretary general, is mentioned. He ticks several boxes, including the most important: his proximity to Gianni Infantino.
« Women's football will have reached new heights under his leadership”, suggested the body in a very laudatory press release on the seven years spent by the Senegalese in the often overwhelming shadow of Gianni Infantino.
« Joining FIFA was the best decision I made in my life, commented the person concerned. I am happy to have led such a diverse team. Today, our body is better managed, more open, more reliable and more transparent. »‘
So much for the good words, always very elegantly chosen in such circumstances. But they do not avoid a question: why such a departure?
Backtracking. In 2016, before her arrival at FIFA, the name of Fatma Samoura was completely unknown in football circles. The Senegalese had spent most of her career as a diplomat, at the United Nations, as a humanitarian coordinator in several African countries, including Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Madagascar and Nigeria.
According to several sources, his name would have been whispered to Gianni Infantino's ears by Ahmad Ahmad, the former president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), who has now fallen into disgrace. The former Malagasy leader would have presented them during a banquet organized at his home in Antananarivo.
Quadrilingual, very far from the mysteries of football, therefore supposedly above quarrels, Fatma Samoura was appointed to FIFA in 2016, in the wake of the election of Gianni Infantino as president. To the most skeptical, quick to assure that his choice was above all “ a call”, the Italo-Switzerland then patiently insisted on “ international experience and vision » from the manager. He justified it by the need for FIFA to “ open up to new perspectives, outside the traditional reservoir. »
But in recent months, the Infantino/Samoura ticket has lost its shine. The cause is tensions at CAF, where the current president, South African Patrice Motsepe, is struggling to impose his leadership despite the strong support of Gianni Infantino.
According to several sources, the FIFA president is already preparing the ground for his successor. He even reportedly found the ideal profile, the Mauritanian Ahmed Yahya, a wealthy businessman who built his fortune in fishing.
But the presidency of CAF also interests Fatma Samoura. The Senegalese would have even advanced her pawns, with the project of forming a pair with her compatriot Augustin Senghor, the current president of the Senegalese Football Federation.
Problem: such a team could represent a real danger for Gianni Infantino, and for the power he intends to maintain over African football. Fatma Samoura soon removed from FIFA, the threat recedes.
