The head of the Madagascar Football Association was the sole challenger to Hayatou, AF's leader since 1988, and he claimed a 34-20 victory over the Cameroonian during the poll at the 39th Ordinary General Assembly at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, an event attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Hayatou, considered a controversial figure in the game, had been seeking a eighth term as CAF President.

The result, done in the form of a secret ballot, was announced on Twitter this morning.

"Ahmed Ahmed [sic] of Madagascar is the new CAF president," read a post from CAF before another appeared showing the result.

Ahmad's term will last four years with the next election due in 2021 and he also becomes a member of the FIFA Council.

There were cheers when the result, which is being regarded as a shock, was announced and Ahmad was carried onto the stage on the shoulders of his supporters.

"When you try to do something, you mean that you can do it," Ahmad said.

"If I can't do it, I never stand.

"This is sweet victory. 

"When you work hard for years and months and you succeed, that is great."

Results of the election: Ahmed Ahmed: 34 votes
Issa Hayatou: 20 votes #CAFGA2017

— CAF (@CAF_Online) March 16, 2017

Hayatou left the room after the poll was revealed.

"It is not that bad," he told reporters inside the hall as he departed.

Along with his role in African football, Hayatou has also been an honorary International Olympic Committee member since 2001.

He has also been a senior vice=president of FIFA since 1992 and also led the sport's global governing body temporarily between October 2015 and February 2016 after Sepp Blatter was banned from all football-related activities following allegations of corruption within the association.

His actions, though, have come under scrutiny in the past.

In an episode of the BBC's Panorama programme in 2010, it was alleged Hayatou had accepted bribes during his time as CAF President for television rights deals.

A year later, an article in the Sunday Times accused him and former FIFA Executive Committee member Jacques Anouma of taking a $1.5 million (£1.2 million/€1.4 million) bung to vote for Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid.

On Sunday (March 12), it emerged the 70-year-old had, along with CAF and its secretary general Hircham El Amrani, been referred to the Egyptian Economic Court by the Egyptian Competition Authority and the public prosecutor for financial and commercial affairs in relation to a broadcast rights deal with Lagardère Sports, allegedly given without a formal tender process.

During the campaign, Ahmad gathered support steadily from around the continent including Philip Chiyangwa, President of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations.

Yesterday, disciplinary proceedings were opened by CAF against Chiyangwa, who also heads the Zimbabwe Football Association, after he reportedly called senior figures in the Confederation as "cowards"and "cronies" after they did not oppose Hayatou.

Many had expected the incumbent to retain his position, with some suggesting his defeat came about because he was "too confident" of securing another victory.

"Too many people told him he’d win easily and he believed them," a senior CAF official told Reuters.

Samuel Eto'o, the Cameroon national team's all-time leading goalscorer, also suggested earlier this week that change at the top of CAF was needed.

"We should bring more freshness to open up other horizons, without denying what has been done," the 36-year-old told Jeune Afrique.

"These changes could prolong and improve what has been accomplished.

"Look at FIFA; the arrival of Gianni Infantino in the Presidency has reignited innovation.

"Trying to do something else at the head of CAF is not a bad idea."

CAF currently has 56 member countries.

Under Haytou's leadership, the continent has gone from having two teams competing at the FIFA World Cup in 1990 in Italy to five, which has been in place since the 1998 tournament in France.

This figure was increased to six in 2010 when South Africa hosted the competition, the first time it had been held in Africa.

They will have five teams at next year's tournament in Russia.

Elections were also held during the Congress for African representatives on the FIFA Council.

Omari Constant Selemani of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghanaian Kwesi Nyantakyi, Almany Kabele Camara of Guinea, Lydia Nsekera of Burundi and Tunisia's Tarek Bouchamoui were all voted in.