After nearly six months in the job, SA Football Association interim chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe must apply for the position if he wants it permanently.

Safa has shortlisted five candidates for the position, which has to be filled by December. The search for a CEO was discussed by the national executive committee at Safa House last month.

Motlanthe, who was appointed to the position on a caretaker basis in May, confirmed that he had applied for the position.

“The NEC shortlisted five people for the CEO position, and those five candidates will go in front of an independent panel to conduct interviews. The names of those people are Happy Ntshingila, Mxolisi Sibam, Lydia Monyepao, Mzandile Maforvane, and me,” said Motlanthe.

The independent panel will conduct a series of interviews with all the five candidates and hand the results to Safa to make the announcement by the beginning of December.

If Sibam, who is a member of the NEC, wins the race for the position, he will relinquish his role from the NEC.

“I’ve learned a lot in the past few months, and one took challenges, and you only grow under challenges. It continues to be a very nice experience being the CEO of Safa,” said Motlanthe.

He says that the job enables him to grow under challenges, and it has taught him to resolve problems and differences. “It’s new territory for me, and it becomes more exciting daily.

"You wake up not knowing what to expect every day. I was in the legal department and knew what I woke up to almost every day, but this job is different,” he said.

Motlanthe’s highlight of his time as the CEO of Safa is the delivery of the bio-bubble to the Premier Soccer League.

“Yes, it remains a big highlight for me, given the issues we had before going into the bubble. There were a lot of discussions and disagreements, but in the end, games got completed, and that makes me happy,” added Motlanthe.