THE South African Football Association (SAFA) has emerged from its Elective Congress bruised and limping, its unity in tatters and leaving serious doubts over whether the fractured body can take football development forward.
Incumbent SAFA president Dr Danny Jordaan was re-elected for a fourth term during a heated elective congress in Midrand yesterday, defeating AmaZulu Football Club owner Sandile Zungu in a contest marred by allegations of vote-buying, intimidation and constitutional tampering.
Jordaan, 75, who contested the election while facing fraud and theft charges linked to the alleged misuse of SAFA funds, extended his 13-year tenure at the helm of the association after securing 157 votes to Zungu’s 82.
Three regions — Amajuba in KwaZulu-Natal, Sarah Baartman in the Eastern Cape and Pixley Ka Seme in the Northern Cape — were disqualified from voting, reducing the number of eligible voting regions from 52 to 49.
The regions voted alongside 41 eligible National Executive Committee (NEC) members, 10 associate members and six Premier Soccer League votes. However, four dismissed NEC members did not take part in the process.
The elective congress came amid vote-buying allegations, with many in football circles claiming that money has long been used to sway voters.
In the run-up to the congress, questions were also raised about the payment of honorariums to NEC members, fuelling suspicions that Jordaan may have used them to secure loyalty and support for his continued presidency.
This week, SAFA vice-president Bennet Bailey, who backed Zungu, confirmed in a voice note to Robert Marawa’s MSW radio sports show, where Zungu was a guest, that NEC members had received payments.
He said: “I hereby confirm that I, Bennet Bailey, have received an honorarium and that it has been outstanding for a couple of years because I haven’t received it regularly, but it came through now. I think it was a week or two ago; it came to the amount of R153 000.”
Zungu latched onto Bailey’s admission, questioning what kind of leader abandons his troops, referring to bonuses for Bafana Bafana players. He urged NEC members to “take that honorarium and vote for change”.
In a statement this week, SAFA attributed the delay in paying Bafana Bafana players and support staff their 2026 FIFA World Cup bonuses to pending international tax compliance requirements in the United States and Mexico, as matches were played in both countries. It said it had appointed specialist legal and tax advisers in both jurisdictions.
Asked to comment on vote-buying claims prior to the election, Zungu said: “I don’t have evidence and I am not looking for evidence.”
This weekend’s election also unfolded amid concerns over financial mismanagement at SAFA House, with the organisation reportedly facing a R28.6 million net loss in the 2024/25 financial year and current liabilities of R221 million.
Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie recently threatened to claw back the R20 million allocated for Video Assistant Referee (VAR) implementation within 21 days if it is not utilised.
Jordaan, who has denied the allegations related to the criminal charges against him, will be back in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge in November.
He is charged along with SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo, former acting CEO Russell Paul, businessman Trevor Neethling and his company, Grit Communications. They are all out on R20 000 bail each.
The State alleges Jordaan diverted SAFA resources for personal use between 2014 and 2018, enlisting a private security company and PR firm Grit Communications without board approval. Furthermore, the State alleges that in December 2017 he backdated a contract with Grit to safeguard his own reputation without following proper authorisation processes.
Former SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble claimed this week that there had been an attempt to manipulate the constitution to give Jordaan an advantage over other contenders.
He said only two amendments were made at this year’s May 23 congress, but the final document showed 14, adding that tinkering with the constitution creates uncertainty around the electoral process.
An NEC member had reportedly opened a criminal case, believing clauses were forged or manufactured to advantage Jordaan.
“It is a little bit of a problem. If you play around with the constitution, then you really are not providing certainty around the electoral process. It is a massive governance problem in my view,” Mumble said.
Expelled NEC member Gladwyn White said he advocated for constitutional amendments to introduce presidential term limits, which are currently absent from the SAFA constitution.
He argued that SAFA’s statutes must be customised and aligned with those of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
White said a 70-year age limit for candidates was recommended in SAFA’s 2022 statutes but was removed before being presented to congress.
He confirmed that he would not take part in the vote after being “illegally suspended and illegally expelled” along with NEC members Emma Hendricks, Orapeleng Setlhare and Monde Montshiwa.
The four, aligned with the Save Our SAFA (SOS) faction, were sanctioned after a chaotic meeting that descended into physical scuffles in March.
The pushback was reportedly aimed at the Football Transformation Forum (FTF), a pro-Jordaan faction seen as a powerful group with a history of delivering results at the elections.
The members’ urgent High Court bid to overturn their suspensions was struck off the roll, and White said they now hoped the matter would be heard on the normal court roll.
Former SAFA vice-president Ria Ledwaba said the amended constitution in question was only made available to NEC members on August 8.
"In fact, I was even telling them (NEC members), the reason why you weren't getting the amended constitution is that there would probably be a lot of changes to it. One would be that Zungu is not eligible to stand. Fortunately enough, that was not the case," she said.
Ledwaba, who lost to Jordaan in 2022, called for FIFA to intervene in the ongoing problems at SAFA, noting that some regions had written to the world football governing body but had yet to receive a response.
“They (FIFA) just stopped the election of Nigeria this week. Why can't they stop the election of South Africa? What's the reason?” she asked.
Arcadia Shepherds F.C. manager, Lucky Manna, said there should be a limit on how long someone can serve as president.
“I will support any change for as long as it is to the benefit of the players and as long as change makes us more multiracial, especially in football,” he said.
On vote-buying during elections, Manna said: "Of course it is a known fact and that is why we would like change. From the 2010 Soccer World Cup, things have been like that and nobody dares to investigate because they get taken out and sidelined."
Former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana legend Edward "Magents" Motale said he had heard talk of vote-buying during elections but had seen no proof.
However, he did not rule it out, saying: “That is possible because people are hungry and they will take anything that comes.”
According to him, Jordaan's re-election wouldn't necessarily be bad for football, but it would mean the country's football remains stuck without any change.
Former soccer player Thulasizwe “Juju” Mbuyane, who played for Orlando Pirates until 2018, said: “I love chairman Danny but I feel like he has been there long enough. It is only fair that Zungu gets the opportunity to focus on soccer development.”
He called for the constitution to be amended to allow the president to serve a minimum of five years in office, “and after that let’s get some new blood that can come in”.
rapula.moatshe@nationalmg.co.za