Jordaan’s 'demise' plotted in Egypt

Danny Jordaan is not very popular on the continent.

Danny Jordaan is not very popular on the continent.

Published Dec 11, 2011

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Danny Jordaan’s “demise” in the Cosafa presidential race here on Friday could well have been plotted in far-away Egypt.

This much was brought to light by an Egyptian national who identified himself as Amada Abdel.

While Jordaan withdrew from the race before the elections, leaving Suketu Patel to go for a second term, indications were that the South African Football Association (Safa) vice-president was in for a hiding to nothing.

Yet, though, most of the delegates from the 14 member associations said they would not have voted for Jordaan because of his “unreliability” (one official even referred to him as a liar), there was a hint of cash for votes floating in the air.

Jordaan and Safa president Kirsten Nematandani insinuated this much as they left the election venue. In the foyer of the Gaborone Sun Conference Centre the two pointed to Abdel and referred to him as the “mobile auto-bank” who was essentially down here to ensure Suketu Patel retained his position.

Incredibly, the man did not deny this. Speaking to a group of South African journalists afterwards at the Grand Palm Hotel, Amada Abdel candidly admitted that he was out to help the Seychelles chartered accountant. “Money talks my friend, in everything and everywhere. We are here to help our friend stay as president,” he said.

Whose friend?

“Patel is a very good friend of Caf. He has done a lot of good things of African football, but it’s complicated, you won’t understand it,” said the man who would not give out any business card or say what his title was.

“No my friend, I don’t work for Caf, I work with Caf,” he said, quickly grabbing my notepad to write down his name – AMADA ABDEL.

Patel is Caf vice-president, having got to the position during the Caf congress in Sudan earlier this year. He beat Jordaan in the race there as well.

Abdel refuted suggestions that Jordaan had also done a lot of good for African football, the South African having achieved no less than bringing the World Cup to Africa.

“No, no my friend, the World Cup was not for Africa, it was for South Africa. You see the problem with you – South Africa – is that you think you are high up there, on top of all of Africa.”

And this was a refrain that was heard from just about everyone of the delegations at the elective conference – South Africans, Jordaan in particular, are seen as being too aloof for the region.

One of the delegates even went as far as suggesting they would have considered voting for a South African “as long as it was not Jordaan”.

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