Samson Adamu | General Secretary of CAF
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed Nigeria’s Samson Adamu as its permanent General Secretary, seven months after he took the role on an interim basis. The decision was approved by CAF’s Executive Committee and announced on Thursday, making Adamu the first Nigerian to hold the post since CAF was founded in 1957.
The Nigeria Football Federation welcomed the appointment. “This is, indeed, very good news. I am so happy for Samson Adamu on his confirmation, and I know he is going to make Nigeria and Africa proud,” said Emmanuel Ikpeme, the NFF’s Acting General Secretary.
In March, BOSA reported that Adamu had been named Acting Secretary General on 29 March 2026, following the resignation of Véron Mosengo-Omba. Mosengo-Omba had held the post for more than five years and had faced criticism for remaining in the role beyond CAF’s mandatory retirement age of 63.
At the time, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said Adamu would serve temporarily while CAF’s vice-presidents led the search for a substantive successor, and publicly encouraged him to apply for the permanent position.
Adamu is the first Nigerian to hold the post in CAF’s history.
Before his elevation he was CAF’s Director of Tournaments and Events, having led its competitions function since 2018, with responsibility for the Africa Cup of Nations and CAF’s club competitions. Earlier this month, CAF appointed Egyptian administrator Khaled Nassar to head the competitions department Adamu left behind.
The appointment puts a tournament operator in charge of CAF’s administration at a commercially important point. The General Secretary runs the organisation day to day, and CAF earns most of its revenue through its competitions: the sponsorship, broadcast and hosting agreements attached to AFCON and the club game. Adamu has spent most of his CAF career delivering those events, giving partners a counterpart who already knows the operational side of the contracts they pay for.
Continuity also matters with AFCON 2027 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania approaching, the first edition co-hosted across three countries. A fixed head of administration removes one source of uncertainty for host governments, sponsors and rights holders planning around that tournament.
The confirmation consolidates a position the country secured in March, and comes as CAF plans to stage its Congress and Awards in the country. One of Adamu’s major priorities includes the governance and transparency reforms CAF has been pursuing under Motsepe.
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