Farayi Mungazi BBC Sport, Cairo

Issa Hayatou is the president of Caf

The African Champions League has left many people with some great memories over the years.

However, nothing causes many observers more angst than the fact that African club football's flagship tournament is turning out to be something of a joke off the pitch.

Saturday's second leg of this year's final between Ahly of Egypt and Tunisia's Etoile Sahel is the latest example of how the African game continues to grope in the dark.

It was a great contest won in thrilling fashion by the home side, but for all the goals scored and the passion on the terraces, there was a crying need for someone with organisational skills in Cairo.

For the football connoisseurs, it is generally accepted that both legs of the Champions League final - and the Nations Cup finals for that matter - are special occasions.

These are heaven-sent opportunities that the Confederation of African Football (Caf) should take advantge of and showcase the beauty of the African game.

But anyone who cares about the African game would surely have left the Military Academy Stadium in Cairo on Saturday wondering what on earth was wrong with the people who run football on the continent.

To make matters worse, no one was taking responsibility for anything

There was complete and utter chaos at most of the gates, and worse was the fate of media men and women covering the match.

For the umpteenth time, no thought was given to the most important aspect at such an occasion - the need for a proper media centre with all the relevant facilities.

And to make matters worse, no one was taking responsibility for anything. Ahly officials were quick to absolve themselves of any blame, pointing the finger at Caf instead.

The Ahly officials have a valid point. The Champions League is a competition organised and run in the main by Caf, and it is Caf's responsibility to ensure that all things are in place.

But Saturday's shambles once again raised serious questions about the organisational capacity of the current regime of Issa Hayatou.

For years, Cameroonian Hayatou has banged the drum about how he would change the way African football is run.

Good intentions and ambitions are great but he must learn to deliver. Promises alone are just not good enough anymore.

Hayatou must make sure that the bureaucrats who walk up and down the corridors at Caf headquarters do more than just turn up at a major cup final and occupy the VIP seats.

African football has always suffered from a lack of sponsorship but that problem was solved when MTN took the plunge and extended a helping hand to Caf.

But is the South African mobile phone giant getting value for money? And how much longer will MTN, a well-run company, put up with this nonsense?

Sadly, Caf does not seem to be bothered about the chaotic organisation that continues to dog its competitions.

The implications could be much broader. It risks undermining whatever is left of Caf's reputation but also, crucially, the image of African football ahead of the 2010 World Cup finals.

This debate is now closed.

As a Cameroonian, I think Hayatou has overstayed in office. There should be term limits at Caf. No human being monopolises intelligence.
Elias Mingou, Cameroon

Mr Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana raised these very sentiments in his bid to take over but he was bannished to history.
Vusi Moyakhe, South Africa

The question is where will the African game be in the next 5-10 years. Where is Caf leading us to? Obviously, there is no vision. There is no real desire for excellence and the ability to do things with class. Caf should go to UEFA and learn how to organise football and stop playing politics.
Jude Ike, Nigeria

The truth is that while African players are making geometric progress, the officials are only making arithmetical progress! This is why you cannot build a reputation on what you plan to do.
Opeyemi Ajala, Nigeria

What you see in Caf is what Africa is all about! People do things unprofessionally and yet refuse to allow more competent and better qualified hands to have a go.
Adeolu Omosebi, Nigeria

I think Mr Hayatou has grown a little long in the tooth and we need new blood to take the African game to the next level. It is amazing that Caf does nothing while teams routinely ill-treat each other in continental competitions. Only in Africa.
B. Saaka, USA

Caf's management is tired. We are well travelled but we do not learn.
Chinyanta, Zambia

Hayatou has done his best for African football.
Jude Monikang, Dubai/Cameroon

I hope Issa Hayatou and the other big shots running Caf will read this and take notice of my advice. Saturday's Champions League has confirmed that Egypt is not ready to host the 2006 Nations Cup.
Anthony Okosun, USA

Caf has failed the whole of Africa. These people have been there for many years now and they have been to many European finals and World Cup finals where they should have learnt a lot.
Kazeem Salami, Nigeria

The problem with football leaders, just like those in the Olympic movement, is that they do not want to leave their posts, even when they are not doing anything to help the development of the game. I believe Issa Hayatou has done his part, for better or worse, and African football needs a new breed of leaders ahead of the 2010 World Cup finals. Thank God that it is a Fifa event and not a Caf issue, otherwise you will have an empty stadium at half-time as fans battle to enter to watch the final.
Robson Sharuko, Zimbabwe

New wine is never put in old wine skins. There should be a total overhaul of these self-styled bureaucrats in Caf. The men in charge at the moment seem to be out of touch with reality.
Stan Klaus, Ivory Coast

I will not be surprised if this view of mine is not published because I have had so many that have been ignored. However, I think we make noise out of little things. There is no organisation without a problem and I think the media should play a more fundamental role in dishing out solutions to some of these problems instead of raising the alarm. Please BBC, let us help Caf with solutions. No one is perfect.
Chinedu Maduabum, Nigeria

The development of African football has stalled over the years. Many of the people at Caf have traveled to many cup finals all over the world and yet fail to implement what they have seen others do. Change is long overdue at Caf - we need to inject new blood into the system to propel African football forward.
Sonny Ikpa, USA

The game is not growing fast enough. Surely the wine is stale!
Isaac Yeboah, Ghana

As long as there are no changes at Caf, African football is heading nowhere. That said, it would be unfair for Issa Hayatou to shoulder the entire blame, because the truth of the matter is that we need new blood from the top down to the bottom.
Sebati Mafate, USA

I am not surprised that Caf is doing a bad job. Neither am I surprised by what happened during this year's Champions League in Cairo. Cairo, after all, is the headquarters of Caf and Egypt feels Caf is supposed to be their 'thing'. This is why they deprive Hayatou of the chance to put in place the necessary infrastructure. By discrediting Hayatou, the Egyptians dream of taking over Caf and its leadership.
Nsalo, Cameroon

As Africa is hosting the World Cup in 2010, Caf should be thinking of ways to make the world sit up and take notice of Africa. Just look at how the Europeans organise their competitions, we can learn and even do better than them.
Suraj Mustapha, Nigeria/Egypt

In Africa, according to Nigerian Fela Ransom Kuti, "Things happen just like that". The question for Farayi Mungazi is this: is there a particular Pan-African system of organising football on the continent? No, I do not thing so. But if we are not judging African football from a Eurocentric standpoint, then there may be just one way to explain the problem of football organisation in Africa. The game has been wielded into the socio-economic and political fabric of African statehood, where people do not take responsibility for their lives but wait on "Saviours" to do it for them. For example, is it not funny that Egypt will be hosting the Nations Cup in less than 90 days from now and yet there was no proper media centre for a match that could have been used to test such facilities? So in Africa, things happen just like that.
DUH SAMUEL Chu, Cameroon/South Africa