CAPE TOWN – After months of speculation around whether Danny Jordaan would face a challenge for the position of Safa president, former referee Andile ‘Ace’ Ncobo will be the man who will also stand for election on March 24.
A number of “big names” in football, such as Lucas Radebe, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, former politician Tokyo Sexwale and even ex-Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba have been some of the possible candidates mentioned in various circles to take on Jordaan for the Safa throne.
But on Monday morning, the SA Football Association announced that only two nominations had been received by the close of business last Friday – Jordaan and Ncobo. The man currently in the hot seat, Jordaan, received 52 nominations, while Ncobo got just one.
The process to be followed with see the nominations forwarded to all Safa members for consideration before the Elective Congress on March 24, which will be organised and managed by the Independent Electoral Commission.
“We shall thereafter inform all members of the IEC’s decisions following their background and eligibility checks, as required by the Safa Statutes and Safa Electoral Code,” said Safa chief executive Dennis Mumble.
Jordaan first came into office in September 2013, when he beat Mandla Masibuko in the elections, and he is now seeking a second term.
The 66-year-old Jordaan was the Safa chief executive from 1997, and ran the South African bids to host the 2006 and 2010 Fifa World Cups.
He is also an ANC stalwart in the Eastern Cape and a former mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in Port Elizabeth.
The 50-year-old Ncobo was a renowned referee at Fifa level, and has served Safa structures over many years, while he was also the PSL’s general manager at one point.
He is a businessman who hails from Willowvale in the Eastern Cape, and is a former school headmaster and university lecturer.
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