Former Liberia Football Association president Musa Hassan Bility has questioned CAF’s backing of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and called for greater independence for African football, www.aclsports.com reports.
In a statement titled “I Feel Vindicated: African Football Must Now Be Liberated,” the former CAF Executive Committee member reflected on his role in the election that brought Infantino to power in 2016 and accused FIFA of gradually tightening its grip on African football governance.
Bility said those who supported Infantino believed they were helping to reform FIFA while giving African football greater control over its own affairs. However, he argued that the reform movement was eventually dismantled, claiming former Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi was deliberately targeted, while FIFA later increased its influence within CAF.
The former Liberian football chief said he strongly opposed FIFA’s decision to place its own officials in charge of CAF’s day-to-day administration, describing the move as a surrender of African football’s autonomy rather than genuine reform.
He recalled confronting Infantino over the development, saying: “This is not why we elected you. This is not what we fought for.”
Bility further alleged that he was warned of consequences if he refused to support FIFA’s growing role in CAF’s affairs.
“I am not a coward. FIFA can do whatever it wants to me. I will take my punishment and go, but I will not surrender African football,” he said.
Bility also revisited his own suspension from football, maintaining that he challenged both the findings and the rules applied in his case. He added that a later audit by the Liberia Football Association found that the association owed him money, a finding he said contrasted with the allegations that led to his sanction.
Reflecting on the period, Bility argued that many African football officials remained silent because they feared becoming targets themselves.
“But one by one, the movement was dismantled,” he said. “Looking back today, I no longer see isolated incidents. I see a deliberate pattern that destroyed the independent leadership of African football and placed the continent under the control of a system centred around one man.”
Bility also criticised CAF’s decision to publicly support Infantino, questioning whether the CAF Executive Committee had consulted the continent’s 54 member associations before issuing its endorsement.
“An Executive Committee statement is not the same as a mandate from the 54 African member associations,” he stated. “A declaration of this magnitude should only follow an emergency consultation or an Extraordinary Congress where every association can hear the facts, ask questions and decide Africa’s position.”
He further warned against what he described as a culture of dependency in African football.
“Once again, promises of money are being placed before African football leaders. But money tied to political obedience is not development. It is dependency,” Bility said.
Despite his criticism, Bility insisted that his intervention was not motivated by revenge.
“I do not seek revenge. I seek the liberation of football,” he said.
Bility concluded by urging African football leaders to reclaim the continent’s independence and ensure that decisions affecting the game are made collectively.
“Gianni Infantino is not FIFA. The CAF Executive Committee is not Africa. Football belongs to the people,” he said.
“Our revolution was hijacked once. We must never allow it to be hijacked again. We will return. We will reform. And together, we will reclaim African football without fear.”
