Samson Adamu has been officially confirmed as the permanent General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking a historic milestone as the first Nigerian to hold the position on a full-time basis since CAF’s founding in 1957.
Adamu had been serving in an acting capacity since 29 March, stepping in after Swiss-Congolese administrator Veron Mosengo-Omba. His confirmation formalises a steady rise through CAF’s ranks, from the competitions department to overseeing the organisation’s day-to-day operations at its Cairo headquarters.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) welcomed the appointment with enthusiasm. Acting NFF General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme described it as “very good news,” praising Adamu’s knowledge, continuous self-improvement, and well-rounded expertise in football administration. He pledged the federation’s full support, adding: “We wish him tremendous success in the job.”
Adamu joined CAF in 2018 as Director of Competitions, later becoming Director of Tournaments and Events before assuming the general secretariat role. CAF had initially announced his temporary appointment while a permanent successor was sought.
His path into continental football administration began in the private sector. He spent a decade as a director at Kinetic Sport Management and founded the Copa Lagos beach soccer tournament, serving as its CEO until early 2018. The event, launched in 2011, brought international teams to Nigeria and helped pave the way for the country to host the 2016 African Beach Soccer Cup of Nations.
Adamu studied business management and computer science at the American University of Paris and graduated from the prestigious FIFA Master programme in 2009, a postgraduate course in the management, law and humanities of sport run across universities in Britain, Italy and Switzerland.
He also comes from a family with deep roots in Nigerian sports administration. His father, Amos Adamu, served as sole administrator of the then Nigeria Football Association in the early 1990s, later held senior government roles including Director of Sports Development and Director General of the National Sports Commission, and chaired the organising committee for the 2003 All-Africa Games in Abuja. The elder Adamu was also involved in Nigeria’s hosting of the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship and the joint staging of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana. He later served on CAF’s Executive Committee, was elected to FIFA’s Executive Committee in 2006, and became President of the West Africa Football Union in 2008—though his international career was later interrupted by a three-year FIFA ban (upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport) for ethics violations.
With Thursday’s confirmation, Samson Adamu now takes permanent charge of CAF’s administration after seven months in the acting role, carrying both personal achievement and national pride into one of African football’s most influential positions.