Cairo, Egypt – 7th April 2015: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has been honoured with CAF’s Platinum Order of Merit Award on Tuesday 7th April 2015 during the 37th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) held in Cairo (Egypt). The AU Commission Chairperson is the second person to receive this prestigious award in the history of CAF.

“Through this award, the Confederation of African Football intends to recognize the immense contribution of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to an emerging Africa, particularly through her vision, Agenda 2063, but most importantly to show gratitude for the support she has always been able to demonstrate to CAF since she took office”, CAF President, Issa Hayatou, said announcing the award during the meeting attended by its 54 members of national football associations, Egyptian Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and delegations from other continental football associations.

Issa Hayatou also noted with gratitude that the AU Commission Chairperson was among the first to welcome Equatorial Guinea’s decision to host the 2015 African Cup of Nations, at a time when the Ebola Virus Disease was causing a scare.

Receiving the award, Dr. Dlamini Zuma said, “It is a great honour for me to accept this Platinum Order of Merit Award, not only on my own behalf, but on behalf of the African Union and women”.

She recognised CAF’s role in the fight against Ebola, highlighting the fact that the organisation of AFCON 2015 showed that Africa can indeed prevent Ebola from spreading. “We stand firm in our solidarity with the affected countries, and the stigmatization of these countries and indeed, of Africa as a whole, was ill-conceived. Apart from hosting the successful finals, CAF should be proud that not a single match was cancelled during the elimination phase”, she noted.

Dr. Dlamini Zuma took the opportunity of the presence of FIFA to express Africa’s hope of hosting the World Cup again, “…but not in a hundred years!” She hoped to see more women on FIFA’s Executive Committee and promised to deliver Sepp Blatter’s message of gratitude to African Heads of State and Government for their support during the next Summit.