23 January 2014

PA MICHEAL OBI: Issa Hayatou Denied Mikel CAF Award

Father of the Super Eagles and Chelsea star is still hurt that his son was not named Africa’s best which he attributed to the workings of the CAF head

John Obi Mikel's father, Pa Michael Obi has held the President of the Confederation of African Football responsible for his son’s inability to be named 2013 Africa Footballer of the Year.

Mikel finished second place in the award won by Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure at a  gala held in Lagos on January 9.


Coaches from 41 African countries voted to decide the winner of the award with Toure garnering 373 votes ahead of Mikel's 265 votes.

“We know that it was he, Issa Hayatou that denied him that award. Yaya himself said so that his friend was worthy to take the award,” Pa Michael Obi told Punch.

“We were there; all gathered around the television watching what was happening and I saw all that happened.

“Some friends had started phoning me from Lagos and Jos, especially from Lagos, waiting to say congratulations to me because everybody had in mind that Mikel would be the person to win the award.

“But I think with Hayatou, the Caf president, it became impossible. Not that I think, he did it because some papers wrote to him that since he had been on that seat, Nigeria had not enjoyed such things.

“But all I know is that I am somebody who does not get worried about certain things. If you observe, you can see what I have written on our transport vehicles, ‘God’s Time is the Best’,” he concluded.

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