The South African Football Association (SAFA) has suspended four National Executive Committee (NEC) members, following the chaotic scenes from last weekend’s meeting.
The confrontation centered on a motion to suspend several NEC members, proposed by FTF national convenor Tankiso Modipa, whose faction supports current SAFA president Danny Jordaan’s bid for a fourth term. SOS opposes Jordaan’s re-election.
“The South African Football Association (SAFA) Emergency Committee has moved to suspend four members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) with immediate effect following a late-night meeting held in Johannesburg on Friday, 13 March 2026.”
“This decision will be submitted to the NEC for ratification. Once ratified, the affected members will be issued with formal letters detailing the charges against them.” SAFA confirmed when asked about these latest developments. “
Following Friday night’s meeting, Gladwin White, Emman Hendricks, Monde Montshiwa and Orapeleng Selthare have been suspended by the Emergency Committee, who presided over the meeting which is pending formal charges as it stands.
The action taking by the SAFA’s Emergency Committee comes on the heels of Minister Gayton McKenzie’s vehement utterances after last weekend’s fight.
The Minister has since threatened to report the issue to football governing bodies CAF and Fifa
The four members were seen exchanging heated words before pushing, shoving, and eventually throwing punches.
They are also alleged to have disrupted the NEC, where the warring factions of the Football Transformation Forum (FTF) and Save Our SAFA (SOS). All four members are aligned to SOS.
The members who have been suspended have already said that they will challenge the committee’s verdict to suspend them, a process that could be lengthy.
Questions now arise about how Safa’s leadership turmoil could impact preparations for the 2026 World Cup, a pivotal event that holds immense promise not just for economic growth but also for national pride.
South Africa will mark their return to the World stage for the first time since 2010.
Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group A alongside Mexico and Soutb Korea.
The team will begin its World Cup campaign against Mexico on June 11, in what will be the opening game of the 2026 World Cup and a repeat of the 2010 competition, where both sides shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Bafana will later on face South Korea on June 25 before rounding off their campaign against a yet to be opponent as the World Cup qualifiers are still ongoing.
The unrest has left many South Africans fearing the worst ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with their dreams of making it out of the group under threat.
In January, South Africa were eliminated from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in the last 16 after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon; failing to build on their impressive performance in the 2023 Afcon.
