Madagascar FA chief Ahmad elected as new Caf president

Madagascar Football Association chief Ahmad is elected Confederation of African Football president, ending Issa Hayatou's 29-year reign.

Ahmad won 34 of the 54 votes in the election, which was held in Addis Ababa on Thursday.

The result means a change in leadership for the first time since Cameroonian Hayatou took charge in 1988.

Ahmad becomes only the sixth Caf president in the governing body's 60-year history.

The departure of Hayatou is a huge change for African football and the 70-year-old will also lose his Fifa position and his place on the body's ruling council.

He had been challenged for the Caf presidency only twice before and both times won with landslide victories

This time he won only 20 votes, ending his hopes of winning an eighth term in office that would have seen his presidency extend for more than three decades in total.

READ ALSO: Behind the scenes – how Hayatou fell to Ahmad