Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football Anthony Baffoe has sang high praises of former Marseille President Pape Diouf, who passed on on Tuesday night.
Pape Diouf died in his native Senegal after suffering from the coronavirus.
Baffoe was heartbroken to hear of the death of the man he described as a 'pioneer' in football on many fronts including management of players.
"He was the pioneer in so many things concerning football affairs and player management coming from Africa-rest well Pape Diouf," he posted on Twitter after learning of the death of Diouf.
Pape Diouf died at 68, and is the first black man to be President of a top European club.
He was president of the club between 2005 to 2009, a period that played a crucial part of Ghanaian footballer Andre and Jordan Ayew.
A former journalist at La Marseillaise in the 1980s, he was a successful football agent from the 1990s, representing top African players like Joseph-Antoine Bell, Marcel Desailly, Basile Boli, William Gallas, Samir Nasir, Didier Drogba and many others.
Pape Diouf was appointed CEO of Marseille in 2004 and was voted the President in 2005.
An esteemed leader, he was one of the major players in French football, renowned for his good banter with his Lyon counterpart Jean -Michel Aulas and his classy way of dressing.
After leaving Marseille in 2009, he became a sought-after speaker in sports conferences.
Charged in the case of questionable transfers from Marseille in 2016, the judicial decision was thrown out on appeal in 2018.
He returned to Dakar in 2018 to be with his family.
He was the pioneer in so many things concerning football affairs and player management coming from Africa-rest well Pape Diouf?????? Il a été le pionnier dans tant de choses concernant les affaires du football et la gestion des joueurs venant du Afrique repose toi en paix ?? pic.twitter.com/E7oYZcXQjk
— Anthony Baffoe (@AnthonyBaffoe) March 31, 2020
By Lukman Abdul Mumin