SAFA submits presidential candidate list ahead of September congress

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has submitted all nomination files for its upcoming elective congress to the organisation’s Independent Governance Committee, with sitting president Danny Jordaan among the names put forward for the presidency.

SAFA chief executive Lydia Monyepao formally handed over the files for vetting. The list also includes AmaZulu FC chairman Sandile Zungu and current vice president Bennet Bailey.

The elective congress is scheduled to take place on 1 September, while the vetting process is expected to be completed by 28 August. The successful candidates will then have their names included on the ballot paper.

Monyepao said the nominations had been organised according to region before being delivered to the governance body.

“With my administrative team, we took the nominations as we’ve received them, and placed them per region, and we have a list we will give to the Governance Committee,” Monyepao told the media.

The handover marks the next stage in the process of determining who will contest the SAFA presidency at the elective congress. The Independent Governance Committee is responsible for examining the nomination files before the final list is established.

Jordaan, who is described as SAFA’s long-serving sitting president, is among the presidential hopefuls whose nomination will go through the vetting process. Zungu has been submitted as a candidate while continuing in his role as AmaZulu FC chairman, and Bailey is also in contention in his capacity as SAFA’s current vice president.

Those who successfully complete the vetting process are expected to be individuals who have previously worked within SAFA structures and who are members of SAFA in one of South Africa’s nine provinces.

The regional arrangement of the nominations is part of the administrative work completed before the files were passed to the Independent Governance Committee. The committee’s review is due to conclude four days before the congress, leaving the final candidates to be confirmed ahead of the vote.

SAFA’s congress on 1 September will therefore determine which of the vetted nominees is placed before members for the presidential election. Until the vetting deadline of 28 August, the submitted names remain subject to the governance process.

Monyepao’s role in handing over the files places the SAFA chief executive at the centre of the administrative preparations for the congress. The organisation has now moved from receiving nominations to checking the eligibility of those seeking a place on the ballot paper.

The presidential nomination list includes figures from different parts of the South African football structure, with Jordaan, Zungu and Bailey among those named for consideration. The Independent Governance Committee will complete the next phase before the elective congress begins.