Lydia Nsekera, the President of the Burundi Football Association (BFA) has become the first Woman to be elected into the Executive committee of the world soccer governing body, FIFA by winning a vote at the 63rd Congress of the body held in Mauritius.
CEOAFRICA news correspondent said Nsekera, 46, president of the Burundi FA and a member of the International Olympic Committee [IOC], co opted on to the FIFA executive a year ago, becoming the first woman to sit at the top table since FIFA’s formation in 1904.
In his closing remark at the congress, FIFA President Sepp Blatter challenged women to make positive contributions to the development of the round-leader game, as he express optimism in the ability of Nsekera.
Our reporter explained that Nsekera polled 95 votes on Friday, ahead of the 70 gained by Moya Dodd of Australia and the 38 for Sonia Bien-Aime of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
However, reports according to Reuters indicated that some members of the committee were not so pleased with the election of Nsekera as they would prefer her fellow contestant Dodd for the position. A senior administrator, according to our correspondent, told Reuters: ’Frankly Moya Dodd, who is a practising lawyer, would have been a far better choice, especially with the continuing reform process FIFA has implemented, but Nsekera was personally chosen by president (Sepp) Blatter last year and the status quo has been maintained for obvious reasons.’’
Dodd, a former Australian international player and vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation, had been widely regarded as a far stronger candidate with better credentials for the job, although she would take her place on executives along with Sonia as co-opted members for one year.
