But now you are in office . Accolades are a thing of the past. Posing for the camera and signing autographs will soon be a distant memory as your presidency begins in earnest.

Frankly, I feel sorry for you. I would not wish it on my worst enemy that they start their tenure barely nine months before the biggest moment of South African football .

Hosting the 2010 World Cup is bigger than some of us can imagine. I do not imagine that in sporting terms there will be anything like it for a while, in fact, I suspect not in my and your lifetime.

Fortunately for you and the new Safa executive the organisation of the games is not your concern.

It is still the business of Fifa through the trusted messengers in the form of the local organising committee.

By the look of things, your buddy Danny Jordaan and his team are on top of things, and barring a major disaster, sabotage, an act of terrorism or sheer negligence, the World Cup will take place and finish without drama.

However, I have bad news for you. Again, barring an act of God or a miracle, our fortunes on the field of play are going to leave much to be desired. Obviously, I would prefer to be proved wrong.

But Safa has made a rather spectacular mess of Bafana Bafana . In 13 years we have managed to reduce a rising African powerhouse to an international joke.

Were our regression since the day we lifted the African Nations Cup in 1996 not so tragic, it would be laughable. But what right-thinking nation would find something to laugh about in this disgrace?

You and your executive have done the right thing by getting rid of Joel Santana. There is no question about it. But I am afraid it is too late. We are too far down the drain to be rescued. While leading football nations started their preparations for 2010 when the final whistle was blown at the Germany finals four years ago, we have gone backwards.

Development remains in a shambles.

We have appointed coaches that should not have been appointed, and paid them excessively well to boot.

We have spent more time politicking than getting ready.

Our squad is made up of mostly mediocre players. Some of our best are slightly over the hill in terms of age. And our only true goal-scoring hope has been sidelined for silly reasons.

I have watched the Under-20 and Under-17 Fifa World Cup tournaments (also staged in Africa) and that has been a sad reminder of how far we are from being in the same league with the best.

My advice to you is to forget about 2010. But get ready to appoint a coach after July next year who can take over all the national sides, down to U-17 level.

The contract must be for four years – until 2014 – and the coach must be given all the support he needs, not just a big paycheque.

Then maybe, just maybe, we will go to Brazil with a team that has a realistic chance of making it to the quarterfinals, and hopefully the finals.

Anything short of this, and next time around I will be writing to a different Safa president.