The performance of the SA Football Association’s officials before parliament’s sport portfolio committee this week was deplorable.
At a time when national teams are performing well on the field, football’s leadership continues to display a disappointing lack of accountability, which to us is evidence that we won’t get out of administrative trouble soon.
Most concerning about Safa’s appearance before parliament was the admission by Danny Jordaan, the association’s president who’s facing fraud charges, that he won’t relinquish the leadership as he had promised three years ago on being elected for a third term.
Jordaan, answering Rise Mzansi’s Magashule Gana, backtracked and hid behind the fact that Safa’s 52 regions must decide on nominations. But as we’ve reported since last year, Jordaan is muscling up for a fourth term that will see him leading Safa until 2030. For him to peddle the ruse of “52 regions” deciding on leadership is just that – a ruse.
We have long called for Jordaan to stop seeing Safa as his fiefdom. He should make way for fresh ideas to take the organisation forward. He has played his role, and it should have ended gracefully, not with the indignity of court appearances.
Jordaan has misled Safa so much that some of the officials saw no wrong in their absurd answers provided to parliament. For instance, CEO Lydia Monyepao admitted with a straight face that SA U20 coach Raymond Mdaka, who became the first coach in the country to lead the junior national side to Afcon glory, earned less than R50,000 and was not given a bonus for the team’s success.
The association has also yet to take action against Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka over the Teboho Mokoena yellow cards saga that could cost the country a place in next year’s World Cup.
Safa’s appearance shone a light on the misgovernance rot at Safa House, and it is clear that Jordaan is presiding over a broken organisation which has no knowledge of corporate governance. How were they comfortable presenting financial statements which didn’t even reflect the value of crowd attendance at Bafana Bafana’s matches, which were all sold out in the past year? How did the leadership see nothing wrong with telling MPs they have yet to convene a board meeting since January?
What of the startling concession that Fifa told Safa it had a bloated NEC as far back as 2013, but that NEC has now been increased to 47 while the association struggles to pay salaries? We hope the sport committee will demand more accountability from the broken Safa after this week, and that the appearance was not merely a box-ticking exercise.
SOWETAN SAYS | Red card for rotten Safa governance
Image: Ashley Vlotman
The performance of the SA Football Association’s officials before parliament’s sport portfolio committee this week was deplorable.
At a time when national teams are performing well on the field, football’s leadership continues to display a disappointing lack of accountability, which to us is evidence that we won’t get out of administrative trouble soon.
Most concerning about Safa’s appearance before parliament was the admission by Danny Jordaan, the association’s president who’s facing fraud charges, that he won’t relinquish the leadership as he had promised three years ago on being elected for a third term.
Jordaan, answering Rise Mzansi’s Magashule Gana, backtracked and hid behind the fact that Safa’s 52 regions must decide on nominations. But as we’ve reported since last year, Jordaan is muscling up for a fourth term that will see him leading Safa until 2030. For him to peddle the ruse of “52 regions” deciding on leadership is just that – a ruse.
We have long called for Jordaan to stop seeing Safa as his fiefdom. He should make way for fresh ideas to take the organisation forward. He has played his role, and it should have ended gracefully, not with the indignity of court appearances.
Jordaan has misled Safa so much that some of the officials saw no wrong in their absurd answers provided to parliament. For instance, CEO Lydia Monyepao admitted with a straight face that SA U20 coach Raymond Mdaka, who became the first coach in the country to lead the junior national side to Afcon glory, earned less than R50,000 and was not given a bonus for the team’s success.
The association has also yet to take action against Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka over the Teboho Mokoena yellow cards saga that could cost the country a place in next year’s World Cup.
Safa’s appearance shone a light on the misgovernance rot at Safa House, and it is clear that Jordaan is presiding over a broken organisation which has no knowledge of corporate governance. How were they comfortable presenting financial statements which didn’t even reflect the value of crowd attendance at Bafana Bafana’s matches, which were all sold out in the past year? How did the leadership see nothing wrong with telling MPs they have yet to convene a board meeting since January?
What of the startling concession that Fifa told Safa it had a bloated NEC as far back as 2013, but that NEC has now been increased to 47 while the association struggles to pay salaries? We hope the sport committee will demand more accountability from the broken Safa after this week, and that the appearance was not merely a box-ticking exercise.
Jordaan confirms he won't say no to fourth term
Safa regions want congress to eject Danny
Jordaan promises MPs ‘accountability’ — Tseka named as culprit for Bafana yellow card bungle
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