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Cosafa rivals to challenge Safa president Danny Jordaan's bid for top Fifa post

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (R) stands next to President of the South African Football Association Danny Jordaan during a visit to the South African Football Association (SAFA) House in Soweto on February 21, 2017.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (R) stands next to President of the South African Football Association Danny Jordaan during a visit to the South African Football Association (SAFA) House in Soweto on February 21, 2017.
Image: John Wessels / AFP

South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan will face opposition from his counterparts in the Seychelles and Malawi in his bid to win a nomination from the Cosafa region for the vacant African Anglophone seat on the FIFA General Council.

Jordaan has submitted his nomination along with Seychelles federation president Elvis Chetty and Malawi football head Walter Nyamilandu-Manda.

Cosafa decided two years ago that should positions become vacant for Confederation of African Football (CAF) or FIFA positions‚ they would endorse just a single candidate to give that individual the best chance of success.

Jordaan is hoping to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of scandal-hit Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi‚ which can only be filled by an individual from English-speaking countries on the continent.

SowetanLIVE has previously reported that Jordaan was approached by leaders in the Southern African region to make himself available‚ but does face some opposition ahead of the deadline for submissions of nominations to FIFA on Friday.

Chetty is in his second term as Seychelles federation president and is a former member of the FIFA Club World Cup organising committee.

He is also a former vice-chairman of the CAF disciplinary committee and a current member of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) organising committee.

Nyamilandu-Manda is a long-serving member of the Cosafa executive committee and is vastly experienced in football administration in the region.

However‚ according to SAFA spokesman Dominic Chimhavi‚ Jordaan has the backing of the Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa.

“He has the backing of Cosafa and the its president has made it clear that he (Jordaan) is the preferred candidate‚” Chimhavi said last week.

Jordaan currently serves on the CAF executive‚ a position he would need to vacate should he be elected to the FIFA body.

The position on the FIFA General Council opened up after Nyantakyi was filmed accepting a R876‚000 bribe from undercover reporters posing as businessmen early last month.

The election to fill the role will take place on September 30.

- TimesLIVE



Source: TMG Digital.

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