The South African Football Association (Safa) could face a legal challenge to next week’s eagerly awaited congress after allegations of manipulated regional elections, the exclusion of legitimate candidates and disputed voting outcomes.
However, Safa vice-president Bennett Bailey, who supports presidential challenger Sandile Zungu, says the election should proceed despite unresolved problems in some regions. Zungu is attempting to unseat incumbent president Danny Jordaan at the congress.
Bailey said the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and Fifa had committed to investigating claims of election manipulation, meaning the vote could take place while the inquiries continue.
“We’ve got commitments from Sascoc and Fifa that they are going to investigate these allegations [of election manipulation].
“Sascoc president [Barry Hendricks] is on record; he said he is going to do that, so it’s all set for elections,” Bailey said on Monday.
“Safa came out and said the elections are going ahead. We were also thinking maybe there was going to be a problem with Danny or he was going to be disqualified and the elections were going to be postponed.
“Now the governance committee came out to say the elections will happen, and Sascoc says the investigation will be launched, wanting Fifa and Safa to give answers.”
Bailey remains confident that Zungu can bring an end to Jordaan’s nearly 13-year tenure.
“I am very positive that Zungu will win the elections. People will reveal themselves on the ballot,” he said.
Despite that confidence, dissatisfaction is reportedly growing in some regions over the status of delegates expected to attend the congress. Sowetan has established that some regional officials believe certain delegates may not be eligible to take part.
One regional president, who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to discuss the issue, pointed to the situation in Nelson Mandela Bay. The region is awaiting an arbitrator’s decision after an allegedly illegal congress was held there.
“For example, we are awaiting the decision of the arbitrator in Nelson Mandela Bay because there was an illegal congress there,” the regional president said.
The region had previously decided to suspend its elections because no committee was in place to supervise the process. After the meeting broke down, members of the Football Transformation Forum (FTF) reportedly pushed ahead with nominations.
“It was at this meeting that [Danny] Jordaan was nominated because the FTF is sympathetic to the president,” the regional president said.
Other regions are also said to be struggling to agree on which delegations should be sent to the national congress. Pixley ka Seme in the Northern Cape reportedly did not hold a regional congress, despite a Safa recommendation that all regions complete elective congresses by March.
“We are going to have people not in good standing participating in the congress simply because they are in the good books of the current leadership,” the regional president said.
Vernon Seymour, a former Safa national executive committee (NEC) member, represents four expelled NEC members: Gladwyn White, Monde Montshiwa, Orapeleng Setlhare and Emma Hendricks.
Seymour said the group would first allow the formal dispute process to run its course before deciding whether to ask a court to interdict the congress.
“Safa has released a list of nominees; now we are in the process of objections and challenges. I would have hoped that people in Safa leadership would aim to resolve all disputes before going to congress,” Seymour said.
“I’m not sure if any leader would want to be elected under these circumstances.”
