Countries of the world facilitate self-determination – invent their own new things or copy the good and throw away bad things from other nations. All of these are spearheaded by governing bodies.

When you look at the football premier leagues of the world you’ll notice that on average they've 20 teams. This is aimed at drawing the crème de la crème, the best talents from all classes of their society. A right and strong representative national squad ensues. On the contrary, a big, resourced country like SA has a slim league of 16 teams, determined by the ruling football body, the NSL.

Referee of the 2019/20 season, Jelly Chavani, was recently charged for briefly stopping a match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenbosch FC last November to honour Anele Ngcongca, who died in a car crash on November 23.

Another case pending is that of Sundowns against Chippa United, which was also stopped in the course of play to honour Motjeka Madisha, who was killed in a car accident last December. It was not an unforeseen development. Tributes are normally paid before the game starts.

Effective planning for such activity is the prerogative of the NSL. Players, officials and spectators only observe the directive that comes from the ruling body on the day of the match.

Governing bodies from all aspects of our lives in SA are failing us.

Thami Zwane, Edenvale