JOHANNESBURG – IN a chain reaction of press conferences over the last three weeks, the Football Transformation Forum (FTF) on Thursday afternoon declared the race for the SA Football Association presidency over.
This structure, instrumental in getting incumbent Danny Jordaan elected in September 2013, responded to their detractors by announcing that 40 of the 52 Safa regions had nominated Jordaan for a second term.
Although the nomination deadline is only a week and a half from now, FTF secretary-general Mzwandile Maforvane, also a member of the Safa national executive committee, said there was no question about who the president would be on March 24 when the elections are held here in Johannesburg.
Asked if the overwhelming support for Jordaan would not change overnight, Maforvane and fellow members of the Safa NEC argued this was unlikely as a decision taken by a region is unanimous and would take some doing to overturn.
“Of course these nominations have also been sent to auditors. The regions volunteered this information because we want to kill this argument that these elections are about the presidency only,” said Mxolisi Sibam, an NEC member who is also the president of the Buffalo City Safa region.
“The national executive committee has 36 people. We have dealt with the presidency and now we need to determine who will be the other 35 members. We want to remind everyone that this elections is not just about one person, but also those who will lead alongside him during his term in office.”
FTF has been quarrelling with the recently formed National Football Consultative Forum (NFCF), which is made up of former – and some have argued “disgruntled” – Safa NEC members, over the eligibility of those who want to oppose Jordaan in the elections next month.
This new structure has also accused FTF of playing dirty tricks and manipulating the constitution so that their candidate, Jordaan, stands all on his own on election-day without a serious challenger.
NFCF want businessman Tokyo Sexwale to be the challenger, but the former minister, apart from being ineligible because he is not a member of Safa, was undecided last week and seemed only interested in taking up the role of peace maker.
Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana had put his hand up before saying he would back Sexwale should he agree to run, while former Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba has also made an attempt to be a candidate, but failed to announce his campaign last week when he reportedly couldn’t find a venue and was threatened with legal action by the SA Masters and Legends Association, which he is a part of.
“These people are just using the buzz word of today, which is ‘unity’ by saying Safa is divided. Where is the division if 40 regions are saying they want Danny Jordaan to be elected president? It also disappointing also because they know the process to follow to voice their complaints, but do it through the press.”
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