THE Thulamela Local Football Association, under the aegis of Safa Vhembe, will hold elections on Sunday.

THE Thulamela Local Football Association, under the aegis of Safa Vhembe, will hold elections on Sunday.

The outcome will show how the pendulum has swung between the old Safa leadership and the new one.

The election takes place after Safa's instruction that all local and regional associations must hold elections before the World Cup.

It is believed the new Safa leadership wants to fortify itself in anticipation of problems after the World Cup. The coming elections have already caused instability in the Safa Vhembe-affiliated association.

Joe Vukeya, the association's chairperson, recently declared the nominations null and void, saying they were flawed. When Vukeya ordered the process to start afresh, members of his executive were unhappy.

Vukeya's deputy, Tshilidzi Tshipepele, called an executive meeting without the consent of the chairperson.

This angered Vukeya, who cancelled the meeting and called another one.

At the meeting called by Vukeya, he told the teams that he was 100percent behind the Football Transformation Forum. "There was a lot of back-stabbing and I had to clear myself," he said.

Because of the instability, the knockout competition initiated by Vukeya and sponsored by businessman Marvin Shitlhelani, which has reached the last-16 stage, might not be completed before the World Cup.