{"id":27570,"date":"2023-08-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/?p=27570"},"modified":"2024-09-19T14:35:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T14:35:47","slug":"banyana-banyana-exposes-safas-house-of-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/banyana-banyana-exposes-safas-house-of-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Banyana Banyana exposes SAFA\u2019s house of cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two weeks before the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, Banyana Banyana players found themselves embroiled in a fight with SAFA over tournament bonuses \u2013 a dispute that highlighted the association\u2019s financial woes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The spark that lit this fiery impasse came from FIFA\u2019s decision to revise their funding model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FIFA is not only rewarding the association for their national team\u2019s success, but also earmarked funds for a guaranteed direct benefit of the players.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The world football governing body set aside $30 000 (R564 000) for each player of the national teams that were knocked out of the group stage with the money rising to $270 000 (just over R5-million) for the champions. The associations themselves will be paid between $1.5-million (R28.2-million) and $4.2-million (R78.9-million).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Banyana Banyana players were incensed by the fact that their contracts with SAFA did not guarantee that the minimum $30 000 from FIFA would be paid to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given that the women\u2019s team consists mainly of amateur players, the World Cup is a rare and significant payday given the minimal training and match fees that SAFA pays. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The World Cup-bound players also wanted SAFA to pay bonuses in addition to guaranteeing the FIFA payments. These demands ranged from R400 000 if they got eliminated in the group stage to R3.5-million if they won the tournament for each of the 23-member squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bonus impasse lifted the veil on SAFA\u2019s financial struggles after SAFA\u2019s vice-president, Bennet Bailey, admitted that \u201cSAFA doesn\u2019t have money\u201d to meet the players\u2019 demands \u2013 and it showed how past decisions, many laid at the door of SAFA president Danny Jordaan, are beginning&nbsp;to hurt SA football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bailey\u2019s admission contradicted the association\u2019s assurances in January this year by SAFA\u2019s chief financial officer (CFO), Gronie Hlunyo, and the former chief executive officer, Tebogo Motlanthe, who told the media that SAFA is not broke.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hlunyo proudly&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.safa.net\/2023\/01\/13\/safa-finances-well-and-in-good-standing\/\">declared<\/a>&nbsp;that the association\u2019s finances are \u201cwell and very much in order\u201d, and went on to boast about the good corporate structures SAFA has in place, arguing that those structures have ensured that the association is on a sound financial footing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But behind closed doors, Hlunyo has been raising the alarm for years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2018, Hlunyo warned SAFA\u2019s national executive committee (NEC) that its reserves sat at R12-million, far below the R100-million he believed it would need to be in a comfortable position.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, SAFA\u2019s slim reserves have been eroded further so that SAFA is now nearly R2-million in the red, according to its 2022 financial&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.safa.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Financial-Report-2021-%2525E2%252580%252593-2022.pdf\">report<\/a>, which noted that as of 30 June 2022, \u201cthe Group\u2019s total liabilities exceeded its total assets by R1,940,141 which may indicate an inherent concern on the Group\u2019s going concern [status]\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following Banyana Banyana\u2019s boycott of the send-off match against Botswana, SAFA and sports minister Zizi Kodwa went cap-in-hand to the Motsepe Foundation to ask for financial assistance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The foundation donated R6-million to the association, allowing it to pay each player R230 000 in bonuses. National lottery operator, Ithuba, also pledged R2-million to the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this was enough to get Banyana Banyana on the plane, the promising national side will return to an association plagued by financial and leadership fragility, highlighted by a series of questionable decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Banyana Banyana beat Italy 3 \u2013 2 to advance to the knockout stage of the competition. They face the Netherlands on Sunday.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the most glaring example is the 2015 purchase of the Fun Valley Pleasure Resort, a budget water park south of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Not So Fun Valley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fun Valley was envisaged to become a high-performance centre where national teams could prepare for events like the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But eight years later, there is little sign of the world-class training facility, hotel and conference centre that was promised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although SAFA says what is now dubbed the National Technical Centre hosts a number of SAFA events, the association is still incurring the costs of hiring hotels for the senior national teams\u2019 camps as well as for NEC meetings \u2013 even though the acquisition of the resort was sold as an investment that would curb these expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From early on there were concerns that SAFA overpaid for what now feels like a sad hybrid of faded pleasure resort and stunted sports centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When amaBhungane visited last week, the empty pool and the leaves that sprawled all over the property made it look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland \u2013 far from a thriving football technical centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA agreed to pay R65-million in 2015, which former SAFA chief executive Dennis Mumble (who has since fallen out with Jordaan and the association) now suggests was hugely overpriced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA has countered that it obtained a valuation at the time from LDM for R63.7-million \u2013 but a year after SAFA bought the resort, and after making minor improvements, Mumble commissioned a valuation of the property which valued it at R44.5-million.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBased on our extensive research, this purchase price\u201d \u2013 of R65-million \u2013 \u201cappears to include a notable premium as it is significantly above current market levels,\u201d Valuetec Property Evaluation wrote in their assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Fun Valley purchase is the subject of an investigation by the Hawks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordaan is named in a criminal complaint registered in May 2020 by former NEC member Malesela Mooka, with supporting affidavits submitted by Mumble and Lucas Nhlapo, former vice president and chair of the audit and risk committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA\u2019s own Ethics Committee, chaired by retired judge Sisi Khampepe, is investigating the matter following numerous media reports alleging there were irregularities in the transaction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fun Valley has been a millstone for Jordaan who has been dogged by questions about his role in the acquisition, including having to deliver a warning statement to the Hawks in May this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How the deal came about<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In December 2014, Jordaan told a gathered SAFA NEC that the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust had approved R82.7-million \u201cfor the purchasing of a property to start a national technical centre\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome of you saw the place already,\u201d Jordaan told the NEC. \u201cIf you have not seen it, you can go and see it \u2026 As soon as the legal people and the technical people have finalised [the purchase] you will be invited to the opening of your technical centre.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mumble and Nhlapo claim that the NEC never properly discussed the purchase of this property, which would be partly funded by a series of grants from FIFA, and partly funded by the World Cup Legacy Trust, where Jordaan was a trustee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was never a decision of the NEC to say that we are going to apply for money to buy [it],\u201d said Nhlapo.&nbsp;\u201c[Jordaan] just came to us and said, \u2018The board of the Legacy Trust has approved this thing. Jerome [Valcke] has agreed. Let\u2019s go and see.\u2019 And then we saw that thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Valcke was the then FIFA general secretary, with whom Jordaan developed a close working relationship. (See:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/2010-world-cup-10-million-bribe-sa-left-out-even-as-201-million-returned-to-fifa\/\">https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/2010-world-cup-10-million-bribe-sa-left-out-even-as-201-million-returned-to-fifa\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mumble, who signed off on the purchase whilst CEO, set out his version of events in 2020 in an explosive 71-page report titled&nbsp;<em>Governance Challenges at SAFA<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wrote that no due diligence was conducted before a decision was taken to develop Fun Valley into a national technical centre. Mumble says before he left SAFA he had \u201crecommended that the Association reconsider its investment in this site because of the volatility of the area\u201d \u2013 the site is close to an informal settlement \u2013 and the fact that it lacked basic services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor example, sewage is still manually pumped and transported off site at a cost in excess of R120 000 per month due to a lack of sewage runoff systems linked to the city\u2019s sewage system,\u201d Mumble wrote.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe area is not serviced by the major telecommunications companies, making it difficult to maintain basic communication connections on site. Cellular phone coverage is therefore hugely problematic \u2026 and led to national teams being reluctant to stay there as many players were assigned homework that required internet access.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mumble said he signed the agreement to purchase the land only after the NEC ratified the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also claimed he raised the issue of R65-million being more than the property\u2019s value but the seller told him he had negotiated the figure with Jordaan and he would not take anything less.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nhlapo, in an affidavit seen by amaBhungane, also raises concern about an unexplained amount of R2.25-million in a report on Fun Valley provided to the NEC, which he speculates might have been an undisclosed commission payment. \u201cNo item was provided for that and no explanation was provided on the same report,\u201d the affidavit reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vehement denials&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordaan has repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing and suggested the allegations are \u201cutter rubbish\u201d and part of a campaign against him by bitter and disgruntled individuals who lost out in SAFA elections or whose employment at SAFA was terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a 11 July statement SAFA said the media was being used to recycle \u201cthe same old false information that has been peddled in the past\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It noted, \u201cThe Fun Valley \/ SAFA National Technical Centre matter was previously dealt with in detail and exhausted. The funding was approved by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Board of Trustees. The valuation of the property was also commissioned by the same Board of Trustees and the valuation report was submitted directly to the Trustees before the property was purchased. The purchase of the property complied totally with the governance requirements of the FIFA\/SAFA Legacy Trust. A subcommittee of the Trust considered the matter and a letter was written to FIFA to first raise the matter of&nbsp;funding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It said the contracts were signed after the SAFA NEC approved the purchase following &nbsp;an inspection: \u201cWe have all the documents in our possession\u2026 and we are happy to share all these in the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The wisdom of the purchase remains in question however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To date, SAFA has been able to add three pitches, including an astroturf. Change rooms have been designed but there is seemingly no money for construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In January, SAFA announced that it will need an astonishing R600-million to complete the national technical centre at Fun Valley, which will include a hotel. But it is unclear where the money will come from as the Legacy Trust funds SAFA has been tapping for years have finally run dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The faded legacy of 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was always FIFA\u2019s wish that the 2010 World Cup would leave a lasting legacy for football in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make that a reality, FIFA helped set up the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust with a grant of R450-million, to benefit the beautiful game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest beneficiary would be SAFA itself: between 2012 and 2022, the Legacy Trust has cushioned the association\u2019s finances, injecting more than R320-million into its ailing balance sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what was intended to be a long-term, self-sustaining fund has now run out of money and ceased operations in February 2022, with potentially serious consequences for SAFA\u2019s sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA\u2019s 2022 financial report hints that the future could be bleak for the association if it does not attract more sponsors soon: \u201cThe 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust ceased its operations and this will have a negative impact on the grants revenue,\u201d Hlunyo, SAFA\u2019s CFO, wrote in the association\u2019s 2022 financial report.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe grants from the Trust were instrumental in ensuring that our development programmes proceed without any financial hindrance and thus ensuring their success. The success of the junior national teams and the huge strides achieved in the development of women\u2019s football are prime examples of the Legacy Trust funding\u2019s impact. However, concerted efforts are being made to ensure that this funding gap is closed in the shortest possible time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The association recently took a $1.5-million (R27-million) loan from FIFA, to be repaid with future grants SAFA receives from the FIFA Forward Programme, which is meant for football development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This decision was ratified at an NEC meeting in November 2021:&nbsp;\u201cIt is our money,\u201d Mxolisi Sibam, SAFA NEC member and chairman of the finance and procurement committee, was recorded as saying.&nbsp;\u201cThe FIFA loan is more like requesting that belongs (sic) to you in future, we must make the repayment by June 2026.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA\u2019s precarious financial state is underlined by the fact that without the Covid relief loan of R24-million and the last of the Legacy Trust grants worth R22-million, SAFA would have been nearly R50-million in the red.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2022 financial report notes, \u201cFor the first time in the recent history of the Association, the Association cash flows from operating activities were negative. The strong cash position from 2021 cushioned this negative, this was supported by the front loading of the grants from FIFA which made it possible for the Association to close the financial year with a positive cash balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In analysis written for Mumble\u2019s football website, former SAFA acting CEO Gay Mokoena pointed out that expenses are rising faster than income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe [$1.5-million] loan from FIFA\u201d \u2013 which will be repaid with funds earmarked for football development \u2013 \u201cwas used to pay creditors\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[D]espite settling some creditors, the creditors have started to increase again\u2026 SAFA is sitting without cash again. A rough estimate shows that about R15-million was used to settle creditors and about R10-million for congresses and litigation. The loan money was used up in no time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSAFA has built up a cash-flow deficit for many years,\u201d Mumble said in an interview with amaBhungane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd that house of cards is going to come tumbling down because habitually, SAFA\u2019s income doesn\u2019t equal its liability. It owes more than it has in cash. What SAFA does is that it relies on future payments, on future revenue, to cover and get to a balanced sheet. There\u2019s always a practical deficit, you might be running a cash-flow surplus for a particular year but you are going to have an accumulated deficit because your liabilities don\u2019t match your assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis makes SAFA technically insolvent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA has put a brave face on the situation. In a lawyers letter to amaBhungane in January, the association argued that its financial performance was cyclical, moving in and out of profit and loss depending on the FIFA and African competition calendar and the revenue such competitions brought in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In notes to the financial statements it remained upbeat: \u201cThe Association has long-term sponsorship contracts with most of its sponsors and this assures it of future revenue inflows\u2026The Association is also guaranteed grant funding from FIFA and CAF.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It added, \u201cEngagements with existing sponsors and potential sponsors, with a view of securing additional revenues, have commenced. The Association believes that it will achieve some phenomenal success within a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In the tent and out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the cost of keeping the fractious football community together is also rising, especially given Jordaan\u2019s allegedly imperious management style, captured in former Banyana technical director Fran Hilton-Smith\u2019s tart observation that, \u201chis style of \u2018leadership\u2019 consisted of shouting a lot and trying to intimidate people\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2022 financial report revealed a growing list of legal disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It noted, \u201cMs Ria Ledwaba is disputing the outcome of the 25 June 2022 SAFA Elections and has filed court papers in this regard. She wants the elections results to be nullified and the elections to be re-run. The Association is defending this matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Association is a defendant in various labour cases relating to alleged unfair dismissals by its former employees. These cases have not been finalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMr Gay Mokoena, a former Vice President of SAFA, is suing the Association for allegedly being unlawfully removed from his former position. He wants to be reinstated as a SAFA Vice President and a member of the NEC\u2026Mr William Mooka, a former member of the Association\u2019s NEC, is suing the Association for allegedly being unlawfully removed from his former position. He wants to be reinstated as a member of the NEC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, in May this year CEO Tebogo Motlanthe resigned with immediate effect with various media reports saying that he quit because he felt he was nothing but a \u201cglorified clerk\u201d and his \u201cconstitutional right to privacy was tampered with\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, in a stilted media briefing&nbsp;presided over Jordaan, Motlanthe denied&nbsp;there was any such discord before leaving without entertaining any questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But perhaps the most significant indication of the cost of keeping people in the tent is the bloated NEC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ballooning NEC size and the costs it comes with&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To understand how SAFA finds itself in this position, you have to go back to 2009 when the association elected Kirsten Nematandani as its president on the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those elections marked the rise to power of a group that called itself the Football Transformation Forum (FTF), headed by Jordaan, who was elected SAFA president in 2013.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FTF\u2019s manifesto promised to reduce the size of the NEC that sat at 39 members at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A decade later, SAFA\u2019s NEC has risen to 47 while the association\u2019s staff complement has drastically shrunk from around 200 in 2013 to 59 in 2023.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NEC is effectively the association\u2019s board and its highest decision-making body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between 2012 and 2022, the SAFA NEC has cost the association more than R120-million. This includes hosting NEC meetings, accommodation and transport for members from outside the hosting province, as well as to cover honorariums that are paid to each NEC member.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These funds could have been slashed if SAFA followed FIFA\u2019s instruction in 2012 to reduce their 39-member NEC.&nbsp;Initially, SAFA looked like they would heed FIFA\u2019s call and at an extraordinary congress in 2015, resolved to reduce the size of its NEC from 39 to 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"285\" src=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture1-1.jpg 602w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture1-1-600x284.jpg 600w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Picture1-1-300x142.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this decision was never implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordaan and the current leadership, who swept into office with promises to downsize, now characterise FIFA\u2019s directive as an attempt to prescribe to or destabilise the association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former NEC members who spoke to amaBhungane alleged the structure has been allowed to grow because that is where Jordaan consolidates his power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eighteen of the 47 current NEC members are also presidents of their regions. The regions vote every four years to elect the association\u2019s head, and for the past 10 years, the regions have elected Jordaan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former vice-president Nhlapo alleges some of the NEC members are \u201cnot clean\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome have criminal cases and others don\u2019t qualify to be there in terms of the initial criteria we put up for what it takes to sit in the NEC,\u201d he told amaBhungane<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SAFA NEC members who sit on the national list did not respond to wide-ranging questions sent to them by amaBhungane in December.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only Gerald Don responded, but not to the questions, instead writing, \u201cDear Faceless. I don\u2019t know you. I don\u2019t know how you got my personal information\u2026 without my consent. I\u2019m not the spokesperson for SAFA. Please do not engage me again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former SAFA chief executive Mumble claims a situation has been created where serving in the NEC is seen as a lucrative personal benefit, complete with honorariums and car loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fight for survival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the swirl of allegations and media scrutiny, Jordaan has maintained a strong grip on the association, winning the 2022 election by a landslide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His tactic has been to issue affronted denials and move on, backed by an aggressive legal strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 7 July, SAFA announced it had taken legal action against forensic investigator Bart Henderson who started a petition calling for the suspension of Jordaan and Hlunyo pending the outcome of the Hawks\u2019 investigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Henderson has called for a forensic investigation into SAFA and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust. In particular he flagged the purchase of Fun Valley, calling for its full review.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAFA will be relying on Banyana\u2019s good showing at the World Cup to keep difficult questions at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It may work \u2013 until the next crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks before the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, Banyana Banyana players found themselves embroiled in a fight with SAFA over tournament bonuses \u2013 a dispute that highlighted the association\u2019s financial woes. The spark that lit this fiery impasse came from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":27574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27570"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30110,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27570\/revisions\/30110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}