Zungu cleared to challenge Jordaan in Safa presidential election

Sandile Zungu has been confirmed as eligible to stand against incumbent Danny Jordaan for the presidency of the South African Football Association (Safa) at the organisation’s elective congress on 12 September.

The decision was announced on Friday after Safa’s governance committee presented its final findings on candidate nominations at a press conference at Safa House.

Zungu, the owner of AmaZulu, was one of two nominees for the presidential position. The committee said both candidates had undergone its vetting and verification process and had been cleared to contest the election.

The governance committee also confirmed the eligibility of candidates nominated for Safa’s national executive committee and provincial offices.

Among those approved for the national list are Safa vice-president Bennett Bailey and fellow vice-president Linda Zwane. Bailey has previously called for the election to be postponed and is supporting Zungu’s challenge.

The confirmation leaves Jordaan, Safa’s incumbent president, facing an officially approved opponent for the presidency at the 12 September congress.

On Saturday, Safa announced that the governance committee had also confirmed Premier Soccer League chairman Irvin Khoza, Thokozile Madlala, Kaizer Motaung and Sifiso Biyela as the special members’ nominees.

The committee said its work had been to assess the nominations and provide Safa’s members with the results before the congress.

“Our responsibility as we sit here this morning is to ensure that you are advised of the work that we’ve undertaken and the results that Safa must still present back to the members,” governance committee deputy chairperson Tumi Dlamini said on Friday.

Dlamini confirmed that two nominations had been received for the presidency and that both had passed the committee’s checks.

“Suffice to say, we received two nominations for the presidential candidates, and both were vetted, verified, and deemed eligible to stand for elections on September 12.”

The governance committee’s announcement covered the presidential candidates as well as the final nominations for positions on the national executive committee and in the provincial structures.

Bailey’s inclusion is notable because he has publicly argued that the election should be delayed, while also being aligned with Zungu’s campaign. Zwane is also among the candidates cleared for the national list.

Safa’s elective congress will therefore include a contest between Zungu and Jordaan for the association’s top post, alongside elections involving candidates for the national executive committee and provincial offices.

The organisation has also confirmed the special members’ nominations involving Khoza, Madlala, Motaung and Biyela.

Audio for this story was generated using AI.