Pretoria - Former 2010 Local Organising Committee chief executive, Dr Danny Jordaan, has been appointed as an advisor to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Issa Hayatou.
CAF General Secretary Hicham El Amrani delivered the news to the current South African Football Association (Safa) vice-president on Wednesday.
In a letter, CAF said Jordaan was appointed considering his tremendous contribution, which he continues to render to African football.
“We wish you all the success in your future activities within CAF and the CAF President looks forward to conducting a very constructive and successful collaboration with yourself,” read the letter to Jordaan, who is also currently serving as special advisor for the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The appointment will come as no surprise to many, given Jordaan’s knowledge and expertise. He played a vital role in the bidding process for 2006 and the successful bid for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In reaction to the good news, Jordaan said: “I am humbled by this great honour of being an advisor to the CAF President. It is more pleasing because I am now serving both CAF and FIFA in the same capacity.
“I want to contribute positively in making sure that Hayatou leaves a lasting legacy, especially on international football.”
Jordaan previously served as Chief Executive Officer of SAFA between 1997 and 2001. He was also the CEO of the 2006 World Cup bid from 1998 to 2000. He was also a member of the FIFA marketing and television board between 1998 and 2003.
Jordaan led a delegation that presented South Africa's case for readmission to the CAF delegation in Johannesburg as the acting president of SAFA prior to readmission in 1992.
He also travelled to Lusaka, Zambia, as part of a delegation to present a document on the creation of a single unified SA football body to the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) in exile 1987.
Meanwhile, CAF also announced the restructuring of the CAF Standing Committees for the period of 2013-2015.
Following the revision of CAF statutes in the Seychelles, which were adopted last September and endorsed on 3 December 2012, CAF has updated the Standing Committees and judicial bodies.
The continental mother body has changed the system to allow each CAF National Association to be represented in the committees and the judicial bodies by a selected number from each federation.
The exact number of members varies by federation and takes into account various criteria such as overall performance of national teams and clubs, organisation of CAF competitions and the size of the population of the country. - SAnews.gov.za
