Cape Town - He has walked a long road in South African sports administration, and now Mark Alexander is finally going to be the head honcho of a national federation.
Alexander has been nominated unopposed for the vacant position of president of the South African Rugby Union following Oregan Hoskins’ decision to quit last month after 10 years in the post.
SA Rugby announced on Tuesday that current deputy president Alexander was the only nomination for president after Monday’s deadline, with a General Council meeting on October 27 set to ratify his elevation into the top role.
Alexander – who has a business background – was part of the unified Olympic committee Nocsa in 1994, and is still currently on the board of Sascoc. He has served the Golden Lions Rugby Union as a deputy president before being voted into the Saru executive.
He is regarded in rugby circles as someone with good political connections that can benefit SA Rugby in the long run, particularly with regards to bidding to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has placed a moratorium on a few sporting federations, including rugby, to present bids to host international events due to a lack of transformation, and that situation is set to be looked at again sometime next year.
But while Alexander is a shoo-in for the top job, there will be a contest for the deputy president’s position between current SA Rugby Exco member Francois Davids – the former Springbok selection convenor and ex-president of the Boland Rugby Union – and incumbent Western Province Rugby Union president Thelo Wakefield.
Davids has been a long-serving member of the Saru executive and is the likely favourite to become deputy president, but Wakefield is a popular figure in some circles as he has been vocal on a number of issues, which could win him a few votes.
But if Wakefield misses out to Davids, he will make himself available for Davids’ Exco seat, where he will be up against veteran rugby administrator Dr Jan Marais of the Griffons, Vivian Lottering (Valke) and Schalk Liebenberg (KZN).
Marais has previously served as the chairman of Saru’s company board (Pty Ltd) before the amalgamation of the three controlling bodies within the organisation in 2010 to one executive committee (Exco).
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