Ebrima Sillah BBC Sport in Dakar

El Hadji Diouf has a new president to answer to

Senegalese football has a new hand on the tiller with the election of a new president of the Senegalese football federation (FSF).

Said Fakhry is the man charged with maintaining Senegal at the top of the African game.

He replaces El Hadji Malick Sy, who was sacked amidst allegations that members of the FSF had profited from the 2002 World Cup and Nations Cup campaigns.

Fakhry will head a new executive, whose 33 members are all familiar figures in Senegalese football.

Fakhry was unanimously elected by an extraordinary congress, after being proposed by Sports Minister Youssou Ndiaye.

Fakhry is a successful businessman and philanthropist who has invested in a lot money in Senegalese football over the years.

Fakhry, who is a Senegalese of Lebanese origin, has pledged to redouble efforts in maintaining confidence in Senegalese football both locally and internationally.

The new president and his 33 member executive have committed themselves to maintaining the gains made by the national team during the last Nations Cup competition and last summer's World Cup.

Currently the Senegalese professional footballers are at loggerheads with the FA over unpaid bonuses following the team's qualification for the Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.

But it seems the new executive is serious in settling the impasse.