Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has lost his bid for re-election to the FIFA Council, falling short by a single vote in a high-stakes election held at the 14th Extraordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt.
Pinnick, who has served on the FIFA Council since 2021, was hoping to retain his seat, but his 28 votes were not enough to secure re-election. The final spot went to Souleiman Hassan Waberi of Djibouti, who edged him out with 29 votes.
The top vote-getter was Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa, who secured his place comfortably with 49 votes. He was followed by Hani Abou Rida and Djibrilla Hima Hamidou, both earning 35 votes, while Ahmed Yahya also made it through with 29 votes.
Other unsuccessful candidates included Andrew Kamanga (19 votes), Yacine Diallo (18 votes), and Augustin Senghor (13 votes). Mathurin de Chacus withdrew before the final count.
On the women’s side, Kanizat Ibrahim won a seat with 30 votes, while Lydia Nsekera (13 votes) and Isha Johansen (7 votes) missed out.
With Africa allotted seven seats on the FIFA Council—including one reserved for the CAF president—Pinnick’s exit signals a shift in African football leadership.
