Confederation of African Football president Ahmad Ahmad's five-year ban from football has been reduced to two years, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday, ending his hopes of re-election this week.
The ruling clears the way for South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe to replace him and become the organisation's eighth president in its 63-year history.
Ahmad was banned from football for five years by FIFA in November and fined 200,000 Swiss francs after an ethics investigation by world soccer's governing body, which found the 61-year-old guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits as well as of misappropriation of funds.
On appeal, CAS on Monday reduced the ban to two years - meaning Ahmad cannot stand for re-election this week - and cut his fine to 50,000 Swiss francs.
Ahmad, who was also a FIFA vice president, had hoped his appeal would be successful and allow him to seek re-election in Morocco on Friday.