Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president and FIFA Executive Council member, Kwesi Nyantakyi, has revealed that he was a strong contender for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) presidency before his exit from football in 2018.
Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Nyantakyi reflected on a career interrupted by scandal, highlighting what could have been Ghana’s chance at continental leadership.
At the time, he served as CAF’s first vice president, effectively making him Africa’s second-highest football official. “It was very possible. When I left CAF and football, I was the first vice president, the next most senior football official on the continent,” he said.
Nyantakyi argued that his seniority positioned him perfectly for the CAF presidency. However, his trajectory was derailed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s Number 12 documentary, which exposed widespread corruption and led to mass resignations across the GFA, CAF, and FIFA in June 2018.
The exposé dismantled entrenched networks and ushered in reforms but also left Ghana without a candidate for Africa’s top football seat. Nyantakyi described his downfall as a missed opportunity for the country. “Ghana would have had a CAF president. Although it is still possible… anybody who works hard can be the president,” he noted, signaling a forward-looking perspective despite past setbacks.
His reflections spark renewed discussion about leadership, legacy, and the delicate balance between ambition and accountability in African football. For Ghana, Nyantakyi’s story remains both a cautionary tale and a reminder of what might have been.
