NKARENG MATSHE | Chaos at NEC but Jordaan's foes claim victory

The Safa national executive committee meeting descended into anarchy on Saturday, with screaming and shouting galore, but those opposed to Danny Jordaan’s regime emerged claiming a moral victory amid the chaos.

Sowetan has heard various sound clips recorded from inside the meeting, held at a hotel near OR Tambo International Airport but with the media completely barred, with some NEC members howling in pitched voices, exchanging harsh words.

The biggest bone of contention was Jordaan’s continued insistence on leading the embattled association despite facing fraud and theft charges, for which he’s out on bail.

In the end, Jordaan’s future was not discussed as the item was not on the agenda. It was deferred to next month when the NEC would be discussing the issue without him.

“It was a big victory for us,” said an NEC member who requested not to be named. “We’ve wanted the issue discussed since November 13 [when Jordaan was charged]. We tried to get it into the agenda but somehow we’ve been ignored. On Saturday, we succeeded in putting it into the next NEC for next month and the president cannot attend – that was the resolution.”

Another NEC member said getting Jordaan’s future to be debated without him was the first step towards getting him to fight his court battle without wearing the Safa hat. “He has caused a lot of harm to the image of the association. We are left with three sponsors and they can’t be happy to continue to associate with us. Just last month staff got their salaries way beyond payday,” he said.

It is understood some of Jordaan’s staunch supporters wanted the matter to be put to a vote. “You can’t just vote on policy. While we were debating, some of these just stood there saying nothing because they wanted the matter to be voted on so it could be swept under the carpet. The president was charged and the matter is in court. It’s not an allegation. We had [former Safa vice-president] chief Mwelo Nonkonyana suspended for speaking in the media about Bafana Bafana. The current president faces serious charges and he insists on remaining president. He has to step aside.”

Sowetan has been told Jordaan has his own security detail at the NEC, though this was later downplayed as reinforcements for everyone around the venue. “We saw two bodyguards following him and we could not understand what was going on,” another official said.

Safa announced after the NEC that Jordaan has left the country to attend the Africa Cup of Nations draw taking place today in Morocco.