CAF president Issa Hayatou has been chosen to head the 2010 World Cup organizing committee, to be the first African in history granted this honor. "The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee would like to warmly congratulate Issa Hayatou on his appointment as chairperson of the FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee," the committee said in a press release. The committee's chief executive Dany Joordan expressed his delight with Hayatou's appointment as they aim for a successful tournament in South Africa for the first time in the Dark Continent. "We welcome the appointment of Hayatou and we are very happy that he is the first African chairperson of FIFA's World Cup Organising Committee," he was quoted as saying by CAF official website. "We have worked well with Mr Hayatou for many years and we look forward to strengthening that relationship even more as we host the FIFA World Cup in 2010." Hayatou was elected as CAF president in 1988 and held many positions in world governing body FIFA. The 61-year-old is the president of the Organizing committee of the Football Olympic Tournaments of FIFA and Vice-President of FIFA Committee for Security and Fair-Play.