FIFA Bans Ex-CAF President Issa Hayatou Over $1bn Marketing Rights Deal

Issa Hayatou

Former African Football Confederation (CAF) President,  Issa Hayatou has been handed a year ban from football-related activities by FIFA’s ethics committee over a controversial $1 billion TV and marketing rights deal with France’s Lagardere Sports which infringed competition regulations.

Cameroon’s Hyatou, 74, must also pay a 30,000 Swiss francs (28,000 euros/$33,000) fine after the committee’s adjudicatory chamber found the former FIFA vice-president and interim president breached article 15 (Duty of Loyalty) of world football’s governing body’s ethics code.

The investigation into Mr Hayatou’s conduct in his position as CAF president had focused on his involvement in negotiating and signing off a memorandum of understanding and contractual agreement for the commercialisation of media and marketing rights of CAF-organised events with Lagardere between 2014 and 2017.

The committee found Hayatou had breached his duty of loyalty in his position as CAF president by entering on its behalf into an anti-competitive agreement with Lagardere which damaged the organisation financially as well as its reputation.

Qatari-based French-owned Lagardere Sports Agency, a CAF partner since 1993, was granted a $1 billion exclusive broadcasting rights deal to cover African football competitions from 2017 through to 2028 in a 2015 agreement signed with the CAF, leading to the opening of an investigation from 2017.