Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has extended his best wishes to three South Africans who will represent the country at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar later in November.
Lesufi attended a farewell luncheon at Safa House on Monday in honour of South African Football Association (Safa) chief medical officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya and match officials Victor Gomes and Zakhele Siwela.
He was joined by Safa vice-presidents Natasha Tsichlas and Linda Zwane, Safa chief operations officer (COO) Lydia Monyepao and technical director Walter Steenbok.
“On behalf of the government, Ministry of Sport and everyone, especially the provincial government, be assured of our support,” he said.
“I want to say this to you COO, where you have problems with other provinces and you need to take sporting talent, games or whatever, whether it is the SA Under-23, if you do not have a place to take them, bring them to Gauteng.
“I want to assure you. I went to watch a cup final over the weekend in another province and I asked myself why is this game not in Gauteng. So, we are entering that space as Gauteng and we want to bring everything here so that we can enjoy the benefits of this sport.
Meanwhile, Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe jetted off to Egypt where he is continuing the next leg of the Fifa diploma in football law.
Motlanthe will delve deeper into the new regulations on agents, the regulations on domestic registration and distribution of developmental fees. The module in Egypt comes just two months after Motlanthe and his classmates attended one in Asunción, Paraguay on the regulations on status and transfer of players, and soccer agents module.
“We are attending the next module of the Fifa diploma in football law in Egypt. I anticipate to learn more and come back to implement. Our classes will include a visit to the Confederation of African Football headquarters,” said Motlanthe.
The students will return to Zürich, Switzerland for the final classes, with the graduation ceremony set to be held in the Swiss economic capital in 2023.
“Best wishes and bon voyage.”
For the latest sports news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
