AFRICAAudit reveals
financial chaos
at CAF
The Confederation of African Football is
in a state of disarray, according to an audit
by a leading accountancy firm.
The investigation, carried out by
PricewaterhouseCoopers, found that the
organisation’s accounting was “unreliable and
not trustworthy”, and that some 35 of 40 large
payments, totalling $8.3million, were “unusual”
or had “little or no supporting documentation”.
CAF’s presidential office was found to be
“directly involved” in the controversial decision
to employ French company Tactical Steel, a little-
known manufacturer of gym equipment, as a key
supplier of sportswear for its competitions.
The audit also questioned “the role played” byFor many years in England, football consumers have
been fed the narrative that the Premier League is the
best competition in the world. That argument may help to
sell newspapers and TV subscriptions but it does not tell
the whole story. The theme of “life outside the Premier
League” has been a familiar one to World Soccer readers
over the years and we continue with it this month.
We turn the spotlight on two
players who are thriving after
leaving Manchester United last
summer. We speak to Chris
Smalling (page 46) about the good,
bad and occasionally ugly aspects
of his new life in Serie A; and we
profi le Romelu Lukaku (page 34),
a player who has defi ed the critics
throughout his career and is
doing so again this season at
Internazionale.
Another former United player, Javier Hernandez, is
expected to thrive in the new season of MLS (page 60) a
league that is increasingly looking to hire Latino players
from Mexico and South America, rather than England
and Europe. Europe remains the main
destination for stars of the
South American Under-
Championship (page 54),
but the sands are shifting.Javier Hernandez joins LA Galaxy ................................................................................p
Infantino proposes changes to crisis-hit CAF ............................................................p
United sign Fernandes in January’s biggest deal .......................................................p
Holland star Rob Rensenbrink dies ...............................................................................p
Lionel Messi attacks Barcelona director Abidal .........................................................p
Brazil and Argentina qualify for Olympics ..................................................................p
Copa Libertadores group stage kicks off .....................................................................p
Chinese football in lockdown ..........................................................................................p
Ecuador gamble on Jordi Cruyff .....................................................................................p
Klinsmann walks out on Hertha Berlin ........................................................................pGavin Hamilton, Editor
The theme of
“life outside the
Premier League”
has been a
familiar one to
World Soccer
readers over
the yearsTHE WORLD THIS MONTH
London-bound...
Hakim Ziyech