Confederation of African Football general assembly sitting in Gabon has elongated the tenure of its president, Issa Hayatou.

The 66-year-old Cameroonian-born former 400m runner will now stay in office till till 2017. His current tenure  was due to expire in 2013. By this decision, Hayatou will be retained by popular acclamation at the 35th Ordinary General Assembly to be held in Morocco next year.

The six zonal unions who constitute the membership of CAF gave their word of support for the mandate extension of Hayatou considering the successes African football has chalked under his reign since 1988.

“Hayatou has offered a new platform for African football with innovative competitions such as the African Nations Championship. At our meeting Libreville on the eve of the General Assembly, we unanimously resolved to renew our trust in his leadership for another term,” said Iya Mohammed, President of UNIFFAC (Union of Football Associations for Central Africa).

Jammeh Bojang, General Secretary of Zone West A said: “We pledge our continuous support for Hayatou to lead African football once again. The game has seen many changes in development and we are solidly behind his continued stay in office.”