JOHANNESBURG – The SA Football Association (SAFA) on Friday threatened to take legal action against the National Football Consultative Forum (NFCF) who are determined to challenge Danny Jordaan as SAFA president in the upcoming elections on March 24.
The NFCF have named politician turned businessman Tokyo Sexwale as their preferred candidate to run for Safa president.
NFCF member and former Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana said Sexwale would be eligible to run for the presidency.
“This issue of eligibility has been a stance from the other side (from presidential rival Danny Jordaan's camp)” Nonkonyana said.
“But I must say that if it is the only leg they are standing on‚ they are going to fall flat. We have carefully read the Safa statutes. As you may know I am the one who was tasked by Safa when Fifa directed all national federations to adopt new statutes that are in line with Fifa.
“I went to Cairo and I presented the constitution to the congress and they endorsed it. In the statutes‚ there is an issue of eligibility and it says members are entitled as of right to nominate a candidate of their choice.
“But that candidate must meet the criteria of eligibility as set out in the electoral regulations. The regulations say that people who are involved in football are eligible but we must avoid outsiders and people who have no clue about football to come and take over football.”
In response, Safa released the following statement on the matter:
The SA Football Association (Safa) on Friday instructed its attorneys to send a letter of demand to the so called National Football Consultative Forum (NFCF) and the individuals who spearhead that campaign to desist from disseminating false, malicious and untrue information about the association and its president Dr Danny Jordaan.
If they fail to do so, Safa will seek an urgent High Court interdict to stop the defamatory and unlawful conduct of NFCF and the individuals driving their campaign.
The NFCF is driven by individuals like Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, Mandla Shoes Mazibuko, Xolani Mtumtum, Fanyana Sibanyoni among others. These individuals have no standing in football because they are not eligible to stand for any position within Safa structures. They are not registered as Safa officials, players or referees.
As a result, the Association cannot take action against these individuals within its own structures; therefore the court action is the only route available, regrettably.
For example, Chief Nonkonyana remains expelled from Safa and clearly is ineligible to stand for any position; Shoes Mazibuko purports to head the deregistered SASFA which is no longer recognized by Association as representative of schools football.
Indeed, today, Friday 2 February 2018, Chief Nonkonyana lost another round in his personal fight with the Association; his application was postponed for an indefinite period and he was ordered to enrol his application in a proper manner in future.
The judge was highly critical of his conduct. Chief Nonkonyana is clearly not a fit and proper person to run the affairs of Safa.
Others in the NFCF have either been in the Safa ranks and have failed miserably when in office through incompetence while some have no experience in running football at all.
Allegations they are falsely peddling of fraud and corruption within the Association are totally unfounded and are false and defamatory.
The personal attacks on the Safa president are untrue, false and unjustified and also defamatory. The Association will not and cannot allow ineligible, disreputable and inexperienced individuals to defame it and cause irreparable reputational harm without bringing those individuals to book.