Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam, the President of the Eritrean National Football Federation, has been elected the new President of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) after Fufa president Moses Magogo withdrew from the race.
Andemariam takes over from Alexandre Muyenge of Burundi, who had been serving as Cecafa president.
The Eritrean football administrator had previously held the position of vice president of the regional body.
The new leadership was elected during the Cecafa Elective General Assembly held on Saturday at the Djibouti Palace Kempinski.
The meeting was attended by all 11 Cecafa member associations and was graced by representatives from Fifa, the Confederation of African Football (Caf), and other football stakeholders.
Andemariam was elected unopposed after both Magogo and Muyenge pulled out of the contest earlier.
“I declare Weldehaimanot Andemariam the new President of Cecafa,” announced Jean Sseninde, the Cecafa interim executive director.
Speaking after his election, Andemariam pledged accountability and promised to attract more support for the organisation.
“I thank the Assembly for having confidence in me. I promise that we shall be very accountable with a lot of integrity and also make sure we get more sponsors,” he said.
The Assembly also elected the President of the Somali Football Federation, Ali Abdi Mohamed, as the new vice president.
Francis Amin Michael of South Sudan and Shema Ngoga Fabrice of Rwanda were also voted onto the Cecafa Executive Committee.
Caf’s fifth vice president, Fezal Ismael Sidat, congratulated the new leadership on behalf of Caf president Patrice Motsepe.
“We thank Cecafa for the continuous work they are doing and congratulate them that they will host Afcon 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,” Sidat said.
Fifa’s Director of Member Associations, Gelson Fernandes, also welcomed the new executive.
“On behalf of the Fifa president Gianni Infantino, we thank all members. We shall stand with you and we expect commitment, engagement and hard work,” he said.
The new Cecafa Executive Committee will serve a four-year term.
New Cecafa Executive Committee:
President: Paulos Weldehaimanot Andemariam (Eritrea)
Vice President: Ali Abdi Mohamed (Somalia)
Executive Committee Members:
Francis Amin Michael (South Sudan)
Shema Ngoga Fabrice (Rwanda)
