Top African football officials hope the history-making Cup of Nations in Egypt from June 21 can deflect attention away from a string of embarrassing incidents involving them.
In recent weeks, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad and senior vice-president Amaju Pinnick and VAR have been dominating the headline space usually reserved for stars like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Malagasy Ahmad was questioned by French authorities last week during a probe into corruption, breach of trust and forgery amid reports that CAF illegally changed kit suppliers.
Former CAF secretary general Amr Fahmy from Egypt was sacked recently after making various serious accusations against Ahmad.
Anti-graft ticket
These include corruption, sexual harassment, nepotism and a disregard for CAF statutes by an official who succeeded long-serving Issa Hayatou two years ago on an anti-graft ticket.
While Ahmad being questioned in France caused huge embarrassment, the first Cup of Nations with 24 teams and the first to be staged in June and July was receiving lesser prominence.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian High Court has ordered Pinnick and four other football officials to stand trial for allegedly stealing millions of dollars intended for football development.
And if the image of CAF was not tainted enough, there was a farcical scene in the second leg of the Champions League final with Wydad Casablanca walking off over a disallowed goal.
The Moroccan club wanted the goal referred to VAR only to discover that the system malfunctioned before the match began and could not be used. -AFP
