The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad will travel to Ghana this month to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

Mr Ahmad, who has established excellent relationships with the sports authorities and governments in Africa, will receive the award at a ceremony on April 25.

Ahmad will become the first major international sports personality to receive the award from the highly-rated university known for promoting the sports industry.

The Malagasy has been widely praised for the major reforms he has undertaken in football in Africa since becoming the president of CAF about one year ago.

The award recognises Ahmad’s commitment to the promotion of the game in Africa and by extension Ghana, a country he has visited twice since winning the election.

The University of Professional Studies said in its letter to Ahmad: “The UPSA Management has nominated you for the award of an honorary Doctorate Degree.”

Ahmad has been credited for switching Africa’s flagship football competition – Cup of Nations - to June, ending the club-versus-country rows that African players have faced when the competition is played in January in the middle of the European season.

He had also been praised for expanding the tournament to accommodate more countries while providing direct $2.5m financial support for Africa’s five representatives at the World Cup.

CAF’s support for all the federations across Africa has also improved with financial and material support in the form of FieldWiz, an electronic performance and tracking systems for team-sports.

A special focus has also been placed on women’s football with a symposium recently held in Morocco to chart a course for a better future as well as the reforms to the inter-clubs competitions.

Vice-chancellor Prof Abednego Amartey said the university was honoured to present the award to the former Madagascar minister of state.

“Particularly, we are substantially aware of the positive impact you have made in football arena both in Ghana and internationally,” Prof Amartey said.

This award was given by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).