Bility being rewarded by football presidents from across Africa for the leadership he has shown in the continental football body.
The President of the Liberia Football Association Musa Hassan Bility says his election as head of Anglophone Countries in Africa is an appreciation of his courageous role in the development of African football.
Mr. Bility said he is glad that he is being rewarded by football presidents from across Africa for the leadership he has shown in the continental football body.
He said he was unanimously elected at a gathering of African football Presidents from English speaking Africa countries at a meeting held in Nigeria last weekend by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the new Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
Bility was elected after three names were earlier put forward for the post. He described his election to the position as part of the ongoing reforms in world football and said they are going to do serious football work in the group stating when your friends count on you should be able to make the move.
The LFA President feels he is a leader in African football based on the support by various FA Presidents from the 20 Anglophone countries on the continent.
On what his election means for Liberia, Bility said it is an appreciation for what he has been doing for the last six years by being bold, fair, honest, upright, and outspoken. “When your friends look at you and ask you to be their leader; that’s 20 powerful African countries you should be happy,” he said.
He said the journey he has taken is not one man’s journey but that of 20 countries and he is hopeful that with the cooperation and collaboration of all the countries, African football will be delivered.
He noted that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is happy with the idea and pledged FIFA’s support to the group.
“There is a call for change and English speaking countries want their voice to be heard. We will push for change together, our voices will be heard; we will be together and push candidates together; we also want to ensure equal treatment of all football associations in Africa,” he stated in a release.
He said the decision to form the group was made after the last FIFA Congress in Mexico and the group made the decision to set up the body during the Lagos meeting.
Mr. Bility disclosed the Anglophone group in FIFA will be mainly involved in advocating for development programs and follow up on all local developments, including those from FIFA, CAF, UEFA and even support from governments in the 20 countries that are members of the African Anglophone block.
He said a secretariat will be set up in Zimbabwe to coordinate the work of the group and it will be headed by the President of the Zimbabwe Football Federation.
Bility disclosed that the first mission of the Anglophone countries is to remove the Limitation Clause on the CAF Presidency.
“We are going to be voting against that limitation during the CAF Congress and this will be the first test of our organization. We have the collaboration and cooperation of some francophone countries, including Niger and Senegal as well as Algeria and we will make this happen,” Bility stated.
The CAF Congress comes on between September 24 and 29 this year.