Patrice Motsepe's bid for re-election as CAF President has been rubber stamped by an influential figure in Ethiopian football.
Motsepe was first elected in 2021 and has since agreed to seek re-election with CAF in a healthy state under his leadership as was revealed at the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"I met the guys from CAF along with the FIFA president Gianni Infantino here last week and shared some key points about developing football on the continent," Fikru Tefera tells KickOff.com from Ethiopia, where he is held in high esteem in football circles.
READ: Chiefs forced into key change
"As a former player, I must get involved in improving the game on the continent and the plus is that I'm now close to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia (Abiy Ahmed), who loves football.
"The CAF President Patrice Motsepe knows me and is the one who told the Prime Minister about me.
"Motsepe respects us here on the continent and African football will go forward under him since he is also working closely with FIFA boss Infantino.
"We all love Motsepe even here in Ethiopia and I say forget the rest because Motsepe is by far the best president ever.
"Motsepe stands for all of us on the continent and not just the interests of South Africa or COSAFA region, where he comes from.
"Motsepe is the best president that we have ever had in African football and the proof of all that is in the work that he has done in improving all our competitions.
READ | Sirino's Bafana dream receives major boost
"Our AFCON is now strong enough to get global recognition because of Motsepe and a perfect example was Ronwen Williams' nomination for one of the awards at the Ballon d'Or.
"We are standing with Motsepe here in Ethiopia," says Tefera, who played for seven clubs in South Africa.