Zungu allies claim strong regional backing in Safa election as ‘victimisation’ alleged

Sandile Zungu’s backers say the AmaZulu owner has significant support among South African Football Association (Safa) regions for his bid to unseat president Danny Jordaan – but allege that regions are being “victimised” and intimidated ahead of September’s elective congress.

Zungu, a billionaire businessman and president of AmaZulu, has confirmed he will stand against Jordaan when Safa holds its elections on 13 September. His camp believes a “majority” inside the association is unhappy with how Safa is being run, but says fear of reprisals is preventing many regions from declaring their support openly.

Jordaan, who first became Safa president in 2013 after previously serving as the association’s CEO and as CEO of the 2010 Fifa World Cup local organising committee, is seeking a fourth term. He is currently facing charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud involving R1.3m of Safa funds.

The 72-year-old has twice been re-elected – unopposed in 2018 when rival Ace Ncobo withdrew, and by a landslide against Ria Ledwaba in 2022 – with both defeated camps alleging the electoral playing field was tilted in Jordaan’s favour.

Claims of intimidation and constitutional battles

Lebogang Riet, a Safa NEC member and founding figure in the Save Our Safa (SOS) lobby, which has identified Zungu as its preferred candidate, said resistance to Jordaan inside the association is larger than it appears.

“Actually, to be honest, it’s a majority that are not happy with how Safa is run, inside Safa,” Riet said.

“Where we live is a world where we are victimised for standing up and saying when things are wrong. But if you look at where we come from [in SOS’s origins] and look at the number of regions that are not happy but saying, ‘We support what you are doing but we can’t do this’ [go along with it], it is actually overwhelming.”

Riet claimed regions that opposed proposed constitutional changes at the last Safa congress are now being targeted.

“If you look at the last congress, the Safa leadership wanted to change the constitution to favour their candidate and the regions said no. It’s the first time a Safa congress was actually won by another team,” he said.

“And that has actually rattled a lot of people. It was actually there that people thought, ‘These people are not as few as we thought.’”

Asked whether previous one-sided election outcomes could be replicated, Riet argued the bigger issue was pressure on regions rather than outright corruption.

“We can say there is not an element of corruption more than an element of victimisation,” he said. “Our regions are now victimised because they have voted against the changes, because they are seen to stand in the middle.”

“But those of us who stand on this side have clubbed together, we can stand up for each other, we can protect each other,” he added. “So it’s a war, if I must put it like that. It’s not going to be easy.”

Zungu launch draws senior figures

Zungu formally launched his campaign on Saturday at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg with an event his supporters described as “glitzy and impressive”.

Attendees included Safa NEC and regional representatives, Safa vice-president Bennett Bailey, former Safa vice-president Gladwyn White, ex-Bafana Bafana captains Lucas Radebe and Thulani Hlatshwayo, and poet Mzwakhe Mbuli.

Zungu has branded his programme a “Vision 2030, Rebuilding Safa House” bid, and has publicly argued that Safa “has an opportunity to rebuild and strengthen its image and reputation”.

However, his candidacy must still clear a key hurdle. Safa’s ethics committee has to rule on whether he is eligible under the controversial Article 30.4 of the association’s constitution, which was amended to require presidential hopefuls to have at least 10 years of administrative experience inside Safa’s structures.

Zungu has indicated that his service on Safa’s remunerations committee satisfies that requirement, but the final decision rests with the vetting process.

Bailey backs Zungu after ending his own bid

Bailey, who is also president of Safa Cape Town, had initially announced that he would stand against Jordaan, but has since withdrawn to support Zungu.

“When we got [towards] our elections it was still only one person who was going to run for a fourth term,” Bailey said. “I said, ‘No, this is not what South African football needs.’ It needs change. And it does not just need a change of faces, it needs a change of direction, of the football philosophy, and we need emphasis.

“And to get emphasis, you need change. The same person doing the same thing over and again is not going to work.”

Bailey said his decision to step aside followed Zungu’s emergence as an alternative candidate.

“In the absence of that I raised my hand and said I am available and I am going to lead Safa,” he explained, citing his experience leading what he described as the country’s biggest football district, with 134,000 members.

“But then when Sandile Zungu raised his hand, I said, ‘That is a man I can follow.’ So when you say I abandoned the campaign no. It is a change of direction, change of strategy and now we have a new face we can support.”

Bailey said the Zungu camp is prepared for any potential dispute over eligibility.

“I think the eligibility issue has been covered extensively. I think president Zungu already said that those people who do the vetting, let’s leave it to them,” Bailey said. “Let’s not speculate about things that are really unnecessary.”

He added: “We’ve got legal backing. We can say that out there, we’ve got senior people on our side. And if you want to come for us, come, we are ready.”

Origins of the SOS lobby

Riet outlined how the SOS grouping was formed around two years ago by “a few regions and a few NEC members who were not happy about how things are done”.

He said the lobby first set out its vision for how Safa should operate before beginning the search for a leader who could embody that programme. Four potential candidates were interviewed, including Radebe and White, before consensus formed around Zungu.

“We had to agree to say, ‘Let us put all our causes behind one leader,’” Riet said, warning that multiple challengers from within reform-minded regions would only split the vote.

He admitted much of SOS’s work had been done “underground” because “a lot of regions are still troubled for standing up”.

“Some of us had to brave up to show we can face this and still come out,” Riet said. “We are here today with Ntate Zungu being raised by the regions that were there at the start.”

Previous Jordaan opponents have also complained about the Safa system. Ncobo said Safa’s constitution had been “butchered” to suit Jordaan’s agenda, while Ledwaba accused him of intimidating regions and swelling an already large NEC to influence voting. Ledwaba challenged the 2022 result in court, but was unsuccessful.

Jordaan has not publicly responded in this article to the latest claims. The elective congress is scheduled for 13 September, with Safa’s ethics and vetting processes set to determine who will be allowed to stand against him.