Bennett Bailey confirms SAFA presidential bid with focus on youth and women’s game

Newly re-elected SAFA Cape Town president Bennett Bailey has formally put himself forward to run against long-serving South African Football Association boss Danny Jordaan in the next national elections.

Jordaan has yet to officially declare whether he will seek a fourth term after the 2026 World Cup, but Bailey, one of his current vice-presidents, says his own candidacy has already been accepted by the Safa general council. He acknowledges Jordaan’s strong backing in many regions, yet stresses that “another hand” is now raised and ready to offer an alternative vision.

Central to that vision is a commitment to transform youth and women’s football. Bailey argues that South Africa must do more than simply qualify for junior World Cups, insisting that national teams need to truly compete on the global stage rather than just make up the numbers.

He calls for renewed investment in grassroots structures, including the return of provincial technical officers cut during the Covid-19 era, and for nationwide programmes that reach smaller centres such as uMgungundlovu and Lusikisiki so young players can “see, feel and touch excellence.”

For Bailey, real progress means creating genuine pathways from remote communities into the national setup, ensuring that a youngster from a small town can one day wear the national shirt and connect their area to the broader South African football brand.

He also backs the decision to delay the search for Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos’s successor until after the 2026 World Cup to avoid unsettling the squad, arguing that there will be enough time later to “trust the process” once the tournament is over.