EFF leader Julius Malema wants SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan to be shown the door following Bafana Bafana’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to Mali.
The South African national football team squared off against the west Africans in their Africa Cup of Nations Group E opening match played at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Ivory Coast on Tuesday night.
Like millions of South Africans who took to social media to express their disappointment after the defeat, Malema lashed out at Jordaan on X.
He said Jordaan should be removed from the hot seat, alleging that he is an ANC deployee that has single handedly collapsed the national team football team.
“We must demand the removal of the @MYANC-deployed cadre called Danny Jordan,” Malema lamented on X.
“He single handedly disrupted and completely collapsed our football. It’s time to take action and put an end to this nonsense.”
Malema joins the DA and many other staunch football supporters that have previously called for Jordaan to step down as Safa president.
Potential corruption at Safa
Jordaan has been under fire since 2010. Among others, he has been accused of financial mismanagement of the Legacy Trust and potential corruption at the embattled association.
In 2023, the DA released a statement calling for his suspension after more than 10 000 South Africans were said to have signed a petition backing the opposition party’s call.
“Backed by 10 000 concerned citizens who have signed the petition, we call on parliament to launch a fully independent forensic investigation to scrutinise the financial affairs of Safa and the 2010 Fifa World Cup Legacy Trust,” DA MP Tshepo Mhlongo said at the time.
The Legacy Trust, which was established in 2011, received a $100-million (R1.9-billion exchange rate at the time) pledge from Fifa, the world football governing body.
The trust was intended to be a self-sustaining source of funding for football development in the country after South Africa hosted the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
With two games remaining in the group stages of the 2023 Afcon tournament, Bafana will have to win both starting with neighbours Namibia, if they are to increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Bafana will lock horns with Namibia at 10pm (local time) on Sunday.
