The SA Football Association (Safa) is mending its relationship with the SA Football Players Union (Safpu) after clashing during the Banyana Banyana World Cup send-off match.
Banyana players had a contract stand-off with Safa, which led to them not participating in their send-off match against Botswana at the Tsakane Stadium at the weekend.
Safpu president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe did not beat about the bush, pinning the entire situation on Safa president Danny Jordaan. He said the association did not want to sit down with players to discuss World Cup bonus payments.
In the heat of things, Safa released a robust statement questioning the credibility of the players’ union.
Following days of disputes, which saw the Motsepe Foundation come to the rescue by pledging R6-million towards Banyana, Gaoshubelwe admitted that the negotiations between both parties were tough.
“We were not prepared to take anything in the fight that begins to promote the policies of South Africa [rights of players],” Gaoshubelwe said during a press conference in Sandton on Wednesday.
“So, we were not going to stand aside until we were done. But those packages of measures make it very difficult for us to tell you exactly what the issues are we wanted to address.
“We also find comfort in that Dr Jordaan and I agreed that immediately after this meeting, we will convene, so that we deal with the side issues – that’s the word I got from him, and I don’t want to doubt what he has told us, but we really appreciate you and your team for ensuring that we are part of this [press conference].”
Jordaan did concede that Safa and Safpu will sit down and discuss their relationship moving forward, as there are additional funds that will come from the association via the Motsepe Foundation backing, which amount to R230 000 for players and R150 000 for the staff.
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