The new Acting General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, Samson Adamu, has spoken of his intense desire to leave a lasting legacy as the chief operating officer of the beautiful game on the African continent.
Adamu was on Sunday, 29th March 2026 named CAF’s Acting General Secretary, at the CAF Executive Committee held in Giza Palace Hotel in Cairo. His name was proposed by CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe and ratified by the Executive Committee.
Samson’s passion for the game was obvious from a young age, and 15 years ago he launched an ambitious project – an invitational beach soccer tournament that drew the best teams from around the globe to Lagos, with the tournament held in an atmosphere of premium entertainment and best standards in administration, logistics, marketing, officiating and publicity.
It was known as COPA Lagos, and was so successful that CAF easily saddled Nigeria with the hosting of the 2016 CAF Beach Soccer Cup of Nations.
His genuine passion, diligence, and people skills catapulted him to the offices of the Confederation of African Football in Cairo, where he started as Director of Competitions, before his elevation to Director of Tournaments and Events.
“I am elated by this appointment. I am determined to serve African Football with humility, integrity, and professionalism,” Adamu told thenff.com.
He is the first Nigerian, nay West African, to mount the hottest seat in African football, in the 69-year history of the continent’s governing body for the game.
Samson is the son of Dr Amos Adamu – a titan in Nigeria sports administration, African and World football for more than two decades.
Dr Adamu served as Sole Administrator of then Nigeria Football Association (now Nigeria Football Federation) in the early 1990s, and as Director of Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.
He was also the chief organizer of the 8th All-Africa Games that Nigeria hosted in the year 2003. The previous year, he won election into the CAF Executive Committee in Bamako, Mali and was re-elected on the margin of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Tunisia.
In 2006, he won election into the FIFA Executive Committee, and also served as Director General of the National Sports Commission.
All these, alongside playing key roles in Nigeria’s hosting of the FIFA World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup) in 1999, and the country’s co-hosting of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations finals with Ghana.
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