Former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has failed in his bid to retain his seat on the FIFA Council.
Pinnick, who was seeking re-election, fell short in the voting process at the 14th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Extraordinary General Assembly held on Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt.
He secured 28 votes, just one vote shy of the tally required to claim one of the six available African slots on the council.
The elected candidates include Morocco’s Faouzi Lekjaa, Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania, Kanizat Ibrahim from Comoros, Djibouti’s Souleiman Waberi, Niger’s Hamidou Djibrilla, and Egypt’s Hani Abo Rida.
Yahya and Waberi edged out Pinnick, each securing the final two spots with just a single vote more than the Nigerian.
READ ALSO:Â FIFA-Banned Russia Announces Friendly Match Against Super Eagles
The FIFA Council, the global football governing body’s primary decision-making unit outside the FIFA Congress, consists of 37 members elected for renewable four-year terms.
Pinnick made history in 2021 when he became the third Nigerian to be elected into the FIFA Council, following in the footsteps of Oyo Orok Oyo and Amos Adamu.
His tenure as NFF president lasted from 2014 to 2022 before he was succeeded by Ibrahim Gusau.
Meanwhile, South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe was re-elected unopposed as CAF president for a second term during the assembly.