Outgoing Safa official calls on fraud-accused Danny Jordaan to step down

Outgoing South African Football Association (Safa) NEC member Buddha Mathathe says Danny Jordaan should have resigned as president to protect the organisation’s reputation while facing fraud and theft charges.

Safa is due to hold its quadrennial elective congress on 12 September, with Jordaan and Sandile Zungu the only candidates cleared to contest the presidency. Both were nominated and vetted by Safa’s independent Governance Committee.

Mathathe, who was ruled ineligible to stand for an NEC position by the same committee, said he had previously raised the issue directly with Jordaan during an NEC meeting.

“As a member of the NEC, I raised the issue in one of our meetings: ‘President, just to protect the integrity and image of the brand, please step down.’ But unfortunately, you know what happened,” Mathathe explained.

The eligibility rules for the election require candidates to have no recent criminal convictions. However, Jordaan’s critics argue that his pending fraud cases relating to Safa should have prevented him from standing for another term.

Mathathe made the remarks in his role as president of the South African Masters and Legends Football Association (SAMLFA). The organisation formally endorsed Zungu over Jordaan at an event held at the Zodwa Khoza Foundation headquarters in Diepkloof.

SAMLFA’s support for Zungu is partly based on his business experience and his involvement in South African football. Zungu is the owner of Betway Premiership club AmaZulu.

The organisation’s members Patson Banda, Jan Malombo Lechaba and Kagiso Mogale, together with Mathathe, have strongly opposed Jordaan’s candidacy.

Banda questioned whether Jordaan remained suitable to lead Safa, comparing the situation with the recent suspension of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu amid corruption allegations.

“It was no longer just an allegation; he was going to court,” Banda said of Jordaan. “There is a process in place. He should have been excused until proven otherwise. For him to still be running Safa affairs is something I find very difficult to accept.”

Jordaan’s candidacy was nevertheless approved by the Governance Committee, leaving him and Zungu as the two names on the presidential ballot for the September congress.

The election comes as Mathathe’s own attempt to return to the NEC was rejected after he was deemed ineligible by the committee. Despite that decision, he remains publicly critical of Jordaan’s decision to seek another term and says the president should have stepped aside while the legal process continued.

Image: Mihlali Baleka / IOL