After months as acting boss, Samson Adamu has been handed the top administrative job at CAF on a permanent basis.
African football has a new permanent administrative chief. The Confederation of African Football has confirmed Samson Adamu as its General Secretary, ending a recruitment process and settling a key leadership question at the heart of the continental body.
Adamu had been running the office in an acting capacity since March 2026. This week, the CAF Executive Committee (EXCO) signed off on his permanent appointment. CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe announced the decision, saying it followed a comprehensive exercise in which the role was widely advertised and several candidates were interviewed.
The promotion caps a steady rise inside CAF. Adamu arrived in 2018 as Director of Competitions, then moved into the role of Director of Tournaments and Events. In those positions he helped organise and deliver some of the continent's biggest competitions, including the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Africa's flagship national team tournament.
That hands-on experience gives him deep institutional knowledge and a clear grasp of the operational demands of running African football, from logistics to the complexities of staging tournaments across the continent. With eight years inside the organisation, he steps into the job as a familiar face rather than an outsider.
For fans, clubs and federations across Africa, the message is continuity and stability at the administrative top. Now the focus shifts to what Adamu does with the job.
