The South African Football Association (Safa) has incurred the wrath of the law after its Western Cape branch defied two orders from the Western Cape High Court.
Safa Western Cape, Safa’s Western Cape chairperson Tankiso Modipa, and the provincial executive officer, Nadia Konstabel who are first respondent, second respondent and third respondents respectively, were fined R50 000 each for cocking a snook at the court orders.
Safa found itself on the wrong side of the law after 14 clubs that play in the Sasol Women’s League in the province took Safa Western Cape, Modipa and Konstabel to court on an urgent basis.
They did so after complaining about how Safa had failed to adhere to the initial court orders regarding the participation of clubs in the league, including funding grants and competition money owed to them.
In a court document we have seen, the clubs stated that the organisation led by Danny Jordaan as president had failed to adhere to the rulings made against the federation on March 6 and March 24.
In that judgment, the court ordered Safa and its executives in Western Cape to convene a meeting with the 17 clubs within seven days.
The court also ordered Safa to hold face-to-face meetings with the clubs to discuss issues regarding the expansion of the league, which was contested by the 14 teams as being illegal.
Last week, lawyers representing Sasol Women’s League clubs RV United, Dangerous Heroes, Ikamva Ladies, Santos FC, Cape Town Roses, among others, approached the court and the rulings were made against Safa for showing the court orders the middle finger.
The judgment stated that Safa should stop being stubborn and comply with the two court orders.
“First, second and third respondents are declared to be in contempt of this court order dated 6th March 2025 and 24th March 2025,” reads the judgment.
The court also emphasised that Safa and its executives should comply with the court orders immediately and deal with issues raised by applicants regarding drama surrounding the Sasol Women’s League.
In the judgment, Safa was also ordered to stop all the matches fixtured in the league pending the final determination of eligible clubs participating in the Sasol League.
The court also fined Modipa, Konstabel, as well as Safa Western Cape R50 000 each for failing to adhere to court orders.
In the papers, the teams’ lawyer stated that the association should stop all the fixtures until the football controlling body’s CEO, Lydia Monyepao, issues letters confirming that the expansion of the league where other clubs had been included had been approved by Safa in accordance with section 2.2 of the Sasol League Regulations.
The lawyers also asked the court that Konstabel and Modipa be sentenced to three months in prison for defying the court orders, but their wish was not granted.
Meanwhile, Safa has also been embroiled in another drama in the Gauteng Sasol Women’s League, where the association was accused by the 14 provincial teams of owing them more than R1-million in unpaid grants and competition fees.
The association has been dogged by controversy relating to a failure to pay staff salaries on time, failing to pay national team players their appearance fees and dropping the ball on checking the suspension records of players in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Sasol spokesperson Matebello Motloung said: “Sasol is still in contact with Safa regarding the recent developments at the association. As a committed sponsor of women’s football in South Africa, our priority continues to support the growth and development of the women’s game and ensuring players and teams have access to the resources they need.”
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