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Former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, has revealed that he was close to ascending to the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) before his exit from football administration in 2018.
According to Nyantakyi, his rise within CAF had positioned him as a likely successor to the continental football body’s top office.
“It was very possible. At the time I exited CAF and football, I was the first vice president of the federation. I was the next most senior football official on the continent of Africa. So it was just a matter of course that if the president was not there, I was the most favourable person to step into his shoes,” he said.
Nyantakyi made the remarks in an interview on Joy News on Tuesday, January 6.
He noted that Ghana could have produced a CAF president through him, adding that the opportunity remains open for future football administrators from the country.
“So, Ghana would have had a CAF president. Although it is still possible. With the current regime of officers and the future, anybody who works hard can be the president,” he stated.
Responding to questions about whether the corruption scandal that ended his career had affected him personally, Nyantakyi said he had moved on.
“I am not hurt by anything like that. Life goes on. There are many opportunities in life for every individual,” he said.
Kwesi Nyantakyi resigned from his positions in June 2018 following the release of Number 12, an investigative documentary by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas that exposed corruption in Ghanaian football.
The undercover footage showed Nyantakyi accepting $65,000 from a reporter posing as a businessman and suggesting he could leverage connections with then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to facilitate business interests.
The revelations triggered widespread public outrage and led to his resignation from roles at the GFA, CAF, and FIFA. In October 2018, FIFA banned Nyantakyi for life for breaching ethics and anti-corruption regulations, although the sanction was later reduced to a 15-year ban.
Criminal charges in Ghana were eventually dropped in February 2025 after prosecutors were unable to secure testimony from key witnesses, including Anas, who declined to testify without his mask, citing security concerns.
