mirAbdou’s success
insecuringa maiden
Africa CupofNations
finalsqualification
fortheComoros
Islandsisallthe
moreremarkablegiventhiswas
achieved againstabackground
ofdomesticturmoil.
WhileAbdou’s squadoflargely
overseas-basedplayersweresecuring
a place at thelatestAFCONtournament
inCameroon,football backonthe
IndianOceanarchipelagoofless
than900, 000 peoplewas
descendinginto chaos.
SaidAliSaidAthoumanhad
beenappointedaspresidentof the
FootballFederationofthe Comoros
(FFC)backinFebruary 2018 tohelp
bringstabilityafterhispredecessor,
TourquiSalim,quitthreemonths
earlieramidstallegationsofa
match-fixingscandal.
AsAbdou’s teamflourishedon
thepitch,offthepitchAthouman’s
reignwaspunctuated by controversy
thatultimatelyledtothe suspension
ofthe FFCjust 1 8 monthsafterhe
tookover.
Whatallegedlybrought
Athouman’s downfall – according
toJosimarmagazine– washis
decisiontonominatehisoldclub
Volcan to playin thelucrative
ArabClubChampionsCup (UAFA)
Heroes on the pitch,
chaos off the pitch
TheComorosIslandsachievedhistoricsuccessby
qualifyingfortheAfricaCupofNationsfinalsagainsta
domesticbackdropofcontroversy,upheavalandinfighting
WORLDSERVICE
insteadofdomesticleaguechampions
Fomboni.
Fombonireportedthepresidentto
theFFC’sethicscommittee,who banned
Athouman.Fomboniultimatelyearned
$20,000after takingpartin the
2019 -20UAFA,butAthouman
respondedbydissolving the
ethicscommittee.
ThiscrisisledtoFIFAsending in
a normalisationcommitteetorun the
gameonthe islands. Thecommittee,
CoNor,was sentintorevise theFFC’s
statutesandthosefor thethree leagues
played on Grande Comore,Moheliand
Anjouan,andthe election of anew
president.
Thecommittee’s mandate wasdue
toexpireonSeptember 30 , 2 02 0,but
worktookfarlongerthanexpected,in
partduetotheimpactofthe COVID- 19
pandemic.With transport cancelled
betweentheislands,onememberof
CoNor,AdfaonHamadaBacar,was
unabletoleaveMoheliandanother
member, FakriddineYoussouf
Abdoulhalik, diedfromCOVID.
Onlythree of thefiveCoNor
memberswereabletosupervise the
election,butFIFAdispatchedVeron
Mosengo-Omba,thechiefmember
associationsofficer,attheheight
ofthe pandemictooverseethe
processearlierthisyear.
Mosengo-Ombahas overseenthe
installation of normalisationcommittees
inotherunrulyFIFAmembers,suchas
CameroonandNamibia,andthe result
ofthe electionintheComoroswasno
surprise.
CoNor ruledouttwo other
candidates,SaidAbdallahSalim,
chairmanofRapide
ClubdeMoroni,and
MahmoudAboud,
a formerComoros
ambassadortoChina
andtotheUSA,due
tothe eligibilityof
someoftheir
sponsors.
Theonlyremainingcandidatewas
Athouman,whois widelyviewedas
a supporterof FIFA presidentGianni
Infantino,andMosengo-Ombawas
abletooverseehiscoronationon
January 3 0,when controlwashanded
backtotheFFC.“Ourpresencebrings
thenormalisationcommitteeto an
end,now thatithascompletedits
mission,” saidMosengo-Omba.
Athouman’spositionseems more
securethaneverasa fewweeks later,
Mosengo-OmbaleftFIFAto take over
theroleofgeneralsecretaryat the
ConfederationofAfricanFootball,
bringinga keyallyfor Athouman
evenclosertothe Comoros.
A
Comoros...inside
thechangingroom
during a FIFA Arab
Cupqualifier
WhileAbdou’ssquadoflargelyoverseas-based
playersweresecuringa placeatthelatest
AFCONtournamentinCameroon,footballback
ontheIndianOceanarchipelagooflessthan
900,000peoplewasdescendingintochaos
Comoros
STEVEMENARY
FFCpresident...Athoumanis
congratulatedbyInfantino
afterhisre-election
