Ydnekatchew Tessema (Amharic: ይድነቃቸው ተሠማ; 11 September 1921 – 19 August 1987) is a former Ethiopian president of the Confederation of African Football, footballer, manager and now is an honorary president after his death in 1987.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ydnekatchew Tessema Eshete | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1921 | ||
| Place of birth | Jimma, Ethiopia | ||
| Date of death | 19 August 1987 (aged 65) | ||
| Place of death | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1943-1958 | Saint-George SA | 365 | (318) |
| National team | |||
| 1947-1957 | Ethiopia | 15 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Contents |
Ydnekatchew was born in Jimma to father Negadras Tessema Ehete and mother Mulatwa Gebreselassie. Ydnekatchew's father was serving his fifth year of exile from the country for being the Minister of Telegraph and Posts of the deposed Iyasu V of Ethiopia.
This never really affected the relationship between Ydnekatchew and Emperor Haile Selassie,the two are seen in many shots where Ydnekatchew humbly accepted another trophy from the emperor. At age four, Ydnekatchew was sent to Teferi Mekonnen School, where he would receive most of his education. At school, the young Ydnekatchew played many sports but mastered football. At age 8 he was even made captain of his school team. In his teens, he also practiced cycling, short distance running and boxing, but he always seemed destined for football, which led him to being recruited by a member of the Arada FC (now Saint-George SA).
The young Ydnekatchew took French, English Italian and Hungarian classes and was fluent in all those languages besides Amharic.
He is considered as one of the country's biggest sporting heroes. He played and coached Ethiopian clubs and teams and invented the modern Ethiopian Sports office at age 22. As a player he spent his entire career at Saint-George SA in Addis Ababa, joining the youth team in 1935 at age 14. Wearing the V across his chest he played 23 years straight with them including his youth years, a country record. Another record he holds is a 43 goals from 47 goals scored by his team. He is the all time leading scorer of Saint-George SA. When the Ethiopia national football team started playing international football in 1947, he was already 28 years old and the squad was vying for younger players, nevertheless he would get 15 caps to his name. His first cap was May 1 1947 in a 5-0 victory over Djibouti. He was also selected for the African cup of nations 1957, even though Ethiopia finished second, without Ethiopia scoring a goal. He was criticized as being "too old",comments mainly manufactured on the fact that he was 36 years old at the time. After the tournament, Ydnekatchew stopped playing for the national team. There was also rumors that he was offered contracts from Inter Milan, El Zamalek, and Liverpool.
His record for the country led him to coach the Ethiopia national football team, after his player retirement for a glorious period, and in 1962, at age 41 when the African Cup of Nations was to be held in Ethiopia, he led them to their only championships in this respected tournament,beating Egypt 4-2 in the final. Ethiopian football was at its peak then, as Haile Selassie the emperor of Ethiopia awarded them the trophy.
So Ydnekatchew stayed on as chairman of team selections from 1950 to 1976. In 1972 he became president of CAF, Africa's football governing body, and would stay on until his death in 1987. He would lead many Ethiopian sports organisations,including Ethiopia's Olympic teams for the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He was also a member of the FIFA Executive Committee,in 1966 until 1974, and is known for his part in a victorious fight against apartheid in South African and international sports.
In January 2006, 19 years after Ydnekatchew's death, Koraonline, the official football magazine of Egypt 2006 criticised Ydnekatchew of being a dictator in charge of African sport. The article stated: "Yidnekatchew Tessema was elected in Cameroon 1972, to rule African Football with an iron hand for 15 years." Further, on Egypt's 2006 official site, instead of Ydnekatchew, they recorded that a Serbian coach by the name of Milosevic was the winning coach for Ethiopia instead of Ydnekatchew.[1]
However, in team photos and clippings from that tournament, there is no sight of any European or foreigner among the Ethiopian players, and Ydnekatchew (who appears in many of the clippings himself) wearing a medal from that tournament.
Ydnekatchew died 18 August 1987 at the age of 66 due to long term illness. Until his death, he was the President of the Confederation of African Football, President of the Union of African Sports Confederations, honorary President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, Member of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa and member of the International Olympic Committee. Africa saw him as an ambassador of Africa who took pride in athletic advancements made by the continent, and in March 1988, he was made Posthumous Honorary President of the African Football Confederation.[1]