The SA Football Association (Safa) will hold an elective congress in a month but we are concerned that we are yet to hear any of the said presidential candidates tell us why they should head the troubled organisation.
Over the past few weeks, all we’ve read has been about unhappiness, bickering and alleged vote-buying in the form of millions of rand paid to current executive members, instead of contestants like incumbent president Danny Jordaan and vice-president Ria Ledwaba informing us why they should be chosen for the position.
On Tuesday, we reported that Ledwaba had received a response from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding her latest complaint about Safa’s constitutional amendments in the lead up to the June 25 poll. The amendments include allowing members of the Safa national executive committee the right to vote, which Ledwaba’s camp finds unfair after media reports that the same executives would share millions in allowances paid by Safa.
CAF distanced itself from her complaint, saying she was part of the congress that ratified the changes but Ledwaba’s camp is crying foul, claiming she had directed the grievance to Fifa and not CAF.
As we write, Ledwaba has also not been officially recognised as a candidate. Two weeks ago her planned press conference, where she was to unveil her manifesto, didn’t materialise as she was barred from talking, with Safa threatening she would be deemed ineligible if she went ahead without her candidacy being ratified.
But why this long wait? It’s now less than month until the poll but we have not heard any of the candidates share with us their vision for SA football. Why, for instance, does Jordaan think he’s a suitable candidate to run for a third term when our senior national team, Bafana Bafana, are in the doldrums? What is he going to do differently to revive our football’s development structures?
It’s a pity Ledwaba has been censored but we would be deeply interested in how, apart from jostling for the high position with Jordaan, she’s going to ensure our football is taken to a higher level. After all, she too has been in football for far too long and should long have made an impact, even from her position of vice-president. Instead, she’s been bickering with Jordaan, who is notorious for isolating anyone who dares raise their voice against him.
Our football will remain compromised because too many leaders are about self-interest. Jordaan has, incidentally, had a fallout with almost all of his previous vice-presidents, and Ledwaba is the latest. Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, Lucas Nhlapo and Gay Mokoena were all ostracised and eventually cast aside.
Ledwaba could well suffer a similar fate at the end of June, but we are more interested in why she and Jordaan want to run for the position. We hope we will know sooner rather than later.
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