The South African Football Association (SAFA) will come under the spotlight this morning when the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture receives a detailed briefing on the governance and leadership challenges facing the country’s football governing body.
The committee will be updated on several pressing issues, including allegations of bullying, the treatment of female staff members, and serious questions surrounding financial mismanagement.
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A particular point of concern is the reported R10 million payment made to SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan in 2020, allegedly without the approval or knowledge of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The briefing comes as public scrutiny intensifies around Jordaan, who is also facing fraud charges relating to a public relations contract with a certain company, which the National Prosecuting Authority has deemed unlawful.
Sources inside the football community describe a growing divide within SAFA, with some officials still backing Jordaan’s leadership, while others believe it is time for change.
A senior football source told the Siya crew: “There’s a strong feeling, particularly among senior stakeholders, that he’s overstayed his welcome. The legal issues are just too much of a distraction now.”
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The outcome of today’s parliamentary briefing could be pivotal in shaping the future direction of SAFA, as pressure mounts on both the association and its president.
Meanwhile, in the interest of balance, the Siya crew reached out to SAFA through CEO Lydia Monyepao. In response, through the association’s communications department, SAFA referred Soccer Laduma to an official statement addressing various allegations and media reports concerning the association and its leadership. That statement can be found on SAFA’s website in full here.
Here follows a few extracts from the SAFA statement:
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has noted a malicious and coordinated campaign to damage the reputations of the Association, the President and the Chief Executive Officer.
These individuals have targeted the President and CEO with attacks that have been launched through certain media outlets and social media in an attempt to change the regime at SAFA. At the heart of the campaign is a misinformation operation that is intended to create the impression that there is chaos and destruction at SAFA.
The campaign has escalated in recent weeks with some even going as far as posting a series of untruths on their own personal social media accounts, attempting to create the impression that the President and the CEO do not consult when making decisions. Nothing could be further from the truth. The President consults on a regular basis with his Vice Presidents and this is normal. Even SASCOC convenes a President’s Forum, and while it’s not a constitutional structure, it is used as a sound board. SAFA’s accountability is clearly set out in its statutes and is not determined on a whim.
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SPORT, ARTS AND CULTURE
SAFA’s appearance before the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture is being deliberately misportrayed as an anomaly when it isn’t. The reality is the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture is conducting their oversight role into Federations, which is their constitutional responsibility. This is not the first rodeo for SAFA and the Association has never refused these obligations. SAFA as a law-abiding organisation will avail themselves so that the Portfolio Committee can exercise their obligations.
FINANCES
Since 1991, SAFA has submitted unqualified audit reports, which were tabled before the Association’s highest decision-making body, the Congress, and they were then approved by the Congress. We must state clearly that there has never been a year where we did not table audited financial report. They were endorsed and approved by every Member that was present. SAFA is among very few National Federations in this country that have submitted audited financial statements for every year of operation without fail. On the question of theft, we issued a statement on 8 March 2024 and said there is no money missing at SAFA. Let us reiterate, there is no money missing from SAFA.
Important to note is that the NPA dropped three out of the seven charges laid against the President and there is a delay in their submission for all charges to be dropped. The insinuation that there should be mass resignations because of charges being brought against the SAFA President is malicious and feeds an agenda of instability, something our performing teams cannot afford. Propaganda like this is designed to paint a picture of total chaos, however all our teams are performing well and are attending all scheduled matches.
Additionally, the Association is about to table a proposal to clubs on how best to settle outstanding debts. This is an ongoing process.
GOVERNANCE
SAFA, like any other organisation, does experience cash flow problems and utilises our available funds to ensure that our national teams participate in various international competitions. The development pipeline demands regular competitions, and this has recently prevented us from holding executive meetings. However, tasks delegated are taken care off by the office and sub committees. SAFA as an organisation is still functional and is not paralysed by not having meetings. There is no crisis.
The highest decision-making body at SAFA is the Congress and it consists of 207 persons, plus invited guests from FIFA, CAF and COSAFA, and an executive of 40. It must therefore be clear that logistically, a Congress requires timeous planning and huge financial resources. It is for this reason that SAFA is sometimes forced to consider its obligations in terms of competitions, and its responsibility in terms of convening committee meetings in addition to the abovementioned structures. SAFA further has 17 committees that have a responsibility to report to the National Executive Committee.
