Sunday World

Tag: South African Football Association

  • Walter Steenbok embraces PMSS, admits to SAFA failures

    Walter Steenbok embraces PMSS, admits to SAFA failures

    The South African Football Association (Safa) technical director Walter Steenbok has admitted that the association has failed to ‘create the player of tomorrow’, as per the slogan of the Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools (PMSS).

    Steenbok is a former Kaizer Chiefs chief scout and was instrumental behind the scenes in helping Pitso Mosimane guide Mamelodi Sundowns to winning the Caf Champions League in 2016.

    Speaking during the launch of PMSS, Steenbok said the programme is important to SA football because it aligns with Safa’s vision.

    “The programme [PMSS] is very important to the South African football Association, as it is line with the new technical vision that we have put up for 2013 to 2017,” Steenbok said.

    “If you check, the Fifa technical development scheme that talks to about six key pillars – which is national teams, competition, academies, talent development and education, that is when you really realise that this programme becomes central.

    “Also, the slogan [creating a player of tomorrow] of this programme resonates to what we failed to do as South Africa. Since 1996, what we failed to do was to be ahead of the game and create a player of tomorrow.

    “The player of tomorrow requires a lot of elements. Of course, the country is blessed technical and tactically we can be able to redo things. But areas of sports science, scouting, leadership, phycological and sociological development has been left out in our players.”

    Steenbok said that Safa has invited PMSS to their inaugural U-15 interprovincial tournament, that will begin on July 8, where they will be selecting the U-15 national team for the first time.

    He also revealed that the association will be having a similar programme called Safa education, with its academy set to be named after the late former Bafana coach Clive Barker.

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  • SA receive major boost in their 2027 Women’s World Cup bid

    SA receive major boost in their 2027 Women’s World Cup bid

    The South African Football Association (Safa) has received a major boost in their mission to bid for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup.

    This after Safa president Danny Jordaan and newly appointed CEO Lydia Monyepao met with the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa on Monday – to give an update on their intentions to host the global tournament on SA shores once again.

    Kodwa is said to be pleased with the progress that has been made by association and has since welcomed the update from Jordaan and Monyepao.

    “I am very pleased with this update from Safa, the details around the progress and the work that has been achieved to date,” Kodwa said. 

    Safa is now embarking on a phase of engaging the provincial governments, the cities, and the stadiums as the work around the bid continues.

    “We are very happy with the progress that has been made,” Jordaan said.

    “Our government has been very supportive of women’s sport as we have seen with various codes, including the eighth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that was held in South Africa early this year and the Netball World Cup that is set to be hosted in Cape Town from 28 July – 6 August.”

    “Safa believes that hosting the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup will accelerate the professionalisation of women’s football on the continent.”

    Jordaan recently returned from a meeting with the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in Cairo, Egypt, where he briefed the continental governing body on why hosting the Women’s World Cup is crucial to the project for SA.

    Safa is set to make a presentation to the government ministers and MEC’s meeting in Bloemfontein on Thursday and Friday.

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  • Safa says cheers to another round of beer sponsorship

    Safa says cheers to another round of beer sponsorship

    The South African Football Association (SAFA) and Castle Lager have extended their long-time partnership for a further three years. Bafana Bafana will continue to have this backing in the coming years.

    The national association, who are known to be struggling a little bit when it comes to matters of finances, are looking fortifying their sponsorship reserve and also believed to be targeting a sugar-coated broadcast deal with pay-channel SuperSport for their various national teams.

    After qualifying for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, the national association announced that they are on the verge of acquiring and naming two sponsors, one for Bafana and one for Banyana.

    Castle Lager have been sponsors of the South African men’s senior national team for more than three decades and the two parties are happy that the Africa Cup of Nations-bound Bafana will continue to have this backing in the coming years. Other Safa sponsors and backers include Sasol, LecogSportif, Motsepe Foundation,

    “SAFA and Castle Lager’s long-standing partnership is steeped in football tradition and this renewal is a win-win situation for both parties. This is one of the most enduring partnerships in sport and the next three years will be an exciting new chapter of this relationship,” said new SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao.

    “As an effort to keep driving South Africa forward, we are proud and are committed to ensuring the growth of national sports through our partnerships. This is how we grow our business responsibly and create a lasting impact in the communities we operate in. Cheers to the future,” said Vaughan Croeser, vice-President of marketing, SAB.

    The Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Côte d’Ivoire in January next year and Bafana Bafana qualified after beating Liberia 2-1 in Monrovia on March 28.

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  • Lydia Monyepao has a tough act to follow

    Lydia Monyepao has a tough act to follow

    The potpourri of events that unfolded at the South African Football Association (Safa) in the past week have left the organisation naked and in a state of anguish. The Safa House inhabitants faced one of the most difficult weeks, which they will want to forget quickly.

    It started last Friday with a bolt out of the blue that was unleashed by CEO Tebogo Motlanthe, who tendered his resignation letter, sending Safa president Danny Jordaan and national executive committee (NEC) members into a state of panic and desperation.

    Motlanthe’s letter was leaked to the media and that wreaked further havoc and revealed the kind of difficulties that staff members are facing. It included titbits like spy cameras in the offices and having to lay off almost 50% of staff members.

    As if it was not enough, former Safa CEO Dennis Mumble went on Metro FM and aired the national association’s dirty laundry. Mumble had done his homework and laid it all bare, criticising Jordaan and the association.

    Anonymous staff members are also complaining about the never-ceasing retrenchments that Motlanthe was allegedly tasked to oversee. The uncertainty and a lack of job security have affected the morale of staff members, who are concerned about losing their jobs. They are asking questions as to why Safa has such a bloated NEC structure and regions. They are asking where the wisdom is in taking 300 members, flying them from various destinations to the ordinary congress at the five-star Peermont Hotel at Emperors Palace for three days, expenses fully paid by the association when such finances could be used for staff retention.

    The Safa technical director Walter Steenbok was also vocal about making it compulsory for PSL coaches to have CAF A Licences in the future. But the PSL coaches and club bosses are complaining that Safa is not rolling out those courses.

    Hence a former player like Mpho Maleka has had to go to Zambia to empower himself with a CAF B Licence. Steenbok had Motlanthe riding shotgun, but he will now have to lead the onslaught all alone.

    The SA Under-17 side, affectionately known as Amajimbos, were mutilated by Senegal 5-0, which resulted in them getting knocked out of the CAF 2023 Under-17 Afcon. This means that the youngsters will not participate in the Fifa Under-17 World Cup that will be held in Peru later this year.

    This is a further blow for the association’s “re-evaluated” Vision 2030 because the SA Under-23 will miss out on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Amajita, the SA Under-20 side, also failed to qualify for the recently-concluded Under-20 Afcon in Egypt.

    This is a cause for concern for the Safa bosses to turn things around. The newly-appointed CEO Lydia Monyepao has a lot on her desk and she will have to hit the ground running.

    She will also have to negotiate and manoeuvre the politics and the minefield of the male-dominated football industry. But we have trust in her, the former Banyana Banyana star is a tough cookie and she has all the qualifications and the football experience required to grab the bull by the horns.

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  • Safa rocked by match-fixing allegations

    Safa rocked by match-fixing allegations

    The South African Football Association (Safa) Sekhukhune Region in Limpopo is under the spotlight after suspected match fixing and corruption in the SAB League Stream E.

    This after Auto Magolego, owner of FC Auto, who are competing in the SAB League, cried foul that his team had been unfairly expelled from the league on April 12, without any verdict in his case.

    Magolego said he sent numerous letters to the board, which Sunday World has seen alongside the summons that were sent via texts. He claims that none of his grievances have been attended to by regional president Lazarus Thokoane.

    Magolego is adamant that his team is being targeted, solely because he was the key witness during the Motimele Commission in 1998, which was one |
    of the biggest match-fixing and corruption exposés in the country.

    “My team and I are being targeted because I was the key witness during the Motimele Commission, complaining about the corruption that was taking place in our football,” Magolego exclusively told Sunday World.

    “I have been having a lot of challenges as far as the referees are concerned. Some of these guys [referees] wanted me to give them money to win games, even when they knew that I had quality players to compete with anybody in this region.

    “So, whenever I don’t give them the money, these match officials make sure that my team doesn’t win any game that I play.”

    Magolego suspects that ABC Motsepe League coordinator in Limpopo and owner of Mighty FC, Mighty Tjale, could be the man behind his unfair treatment, saying that Tjale may be blocking his way of getting promoted to the ABC Motsepe league, since they are under the same Safa structure.

    “The office of the region did indeed receive the complaint by Mr Magolego and his matter was attended to by the head of competition James Masha,” Thokoane said.

    “His expulsion from the league came by default in terms of the rules, which state that in a competition of more than 10 teams, failure to attend more than three matches results in automatic termination of the club status.”

    It is alleged that FC Auto lost their status on April 12 after missing three games in a season and was only notified about the loss of their status via text messages.

    Thokoane has since advised FC Auto to take their matter to regional secretary Judas Thipane before they appear before the disciplinary committee and get a formal verdict.

    Tjale has since refuted all allegations made against him, saying he is not aware of the allegations made against him.

    “My other concern is that some of us did not form teams to benefit from, but we formed them to take the kids out of the streets,” Magolego said.

    “Since I have teams competing in the LFA and SAB, what will happen to all the 60 players that are deprived of football, all because of one person.”

    He threatens to escalate the matter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the administrative football body for intervention should justice not be done.

    Safa’s new CEO Lydia Monyepao was not available on her phone to comment on the matter

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  • Lydia Monyepao takes over the hot seat at Safa House

    Lydia Monyepao takes over the hot seat at Safa House

    Former Banyana Banyana star and team manager Lydia Monyepao has been appointed as the new CEO of the South African Football Association (Safa), becoming the first CEO of the association.

    Monyepao’s appointment comes after the resignation of advocate Tebogo Motlanthe, who departed from the top position on Friday.

    Monyepao was unveiled at the Safa House on Monday morning where Motlanthe also addressed the media about his departure from the association.

    The new CEO has a highly decorated CV and Safa bosses believe she is capable of running the affairs of the football mother body in the country.

    Monyepao, who previously worked for Tuks Sport, has a BCom from Wits University and a BCom Honors in Accounting from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a Masters in Sport Management she obtained from the UK.

    She was also part of Fifa Women in Football Leadership Programme held in Zurich four years ago.

    Her qualifications will come in handy as she occupies one of the hottest seats in South Africa.

    Monyepao was recommended for the job by the outgoing Motlanthe, and it will be interesting to see how she will manoeuvre the politics and the minefield of the male-dominated football industry.

    Motlanthe has been linked with a move to the Premier Soccer League and efforts from the Safa president Danny Jordaan to make him reconsider his decision were not fruitful.

    Jordaan and Motlanthe met at the Houghton Hotel on Saturday night after the Soweto derby, but Motlanthe mentioned on Monday that he was leaving Safa for personal reasons.

    He also explained that the leaked resignation letter which has been circulating on social media was not his.

    Motlanthe was elevated to the top position in 2021 after he took over from Gay Mokoena who had a fallout with the Safa bosses.

    Before Mokoena, Russell Paul was running the show before he got a better post in the Middle East. Dennis Mumble is the last full-time CEO to have been in charge.

     

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  • Finally, Safa seems to have grown a pair as Steenbok takes on the PSL

    Finally, Safa seems to have grown a pair as Steenbok takes on the PSL

    If I was still naïve, I would say that the South African Football Association (Safa) technical director Walter Steenbok is a breath of fresh air. I am not going to because I know that hot air and Safa go together like Kool-Aid and sugar.

    Since I started covering football in 2001, I have heard them all – they came in many shapes and forms. We listened to them, absorbed all the gobbledegook and got excited, only to be disappointed and left high and dry as the SA national teams declined further towards a state of obscurity and became a laughingstock on the continent.

    Steenbok seems a tad confident, something that has been lacking from his predecessors.

    He appears to have a good |understanding of the local game – he also dishes out some admirable fighting talk.

    This past week, he led Safa’s onslaught onto the Premier Soccer League (PSL). He was vocal and forthright when he declared that as Safa, football in the country is their territory and they do not need the permission of PSL clubs to implement some of their proposals that were discussed at the Safa football indaba this weekend. All of a sudden, Safa have grown a pair and are taking the cash flush PSL head on.

    For many years, PSL bosses in Parktown have been condescending towards Safa – but now they are retreating and calling for the Minister of Sport Zizi Kodwa and CAF president Patrice Motsepe to intervene. 

    The clubs would release players to Safa for national duty whenever they felt like. The league would not budge on requests to reschedule fixtures to accommodate various national teams.

    And now, a couple of issues seem to be making the PSL uncomfortable. The national association is steadfast about outstanding matters such as club licensing, which most clubs in the league do not comply with.

    Other burning issues are the coaches’ qualifications, or lack thereof, and the Diski Challenge, which Safa argues was mooted as a development league.

    The tables are turning and Safa are showing the PSL who the custodians of football in the country are.

    These are some of the traits that a technical director requires, unlike some of those who came before him – like Horst Kriete, Serame Letsoaka and Neil Tovey, who did not contribute much to the cause of the SA national teams. 

    Having said all this, does Steenbok understand the terrain and the minefield that he is treading on?

    He probably isn’t cognisant of the uncharted waters he is entering but we admire him for having the gonads to kick-start the conversation.  

    “My presentation will be aggressive, and I hope the president (Danny Jordaan) will give me support at the weekend,” Steenbok said on Thursday.

    “My proposal will be strict, and it is going to cut across up to the PSL.

    “One of the things that we want to enforce is also the CAF Club Licensing – in the PSL, we must be clear that all coaches must have a CAF A Licence,” said Steenbok.

    “Teams do not have to buy into this, it is legislation and we (Safa) must enforce it – this is our territory, we are in charge and we need to go to the congress and say this should have been done long time ago.

    “Who is coaching our players? It means the players are on their own – if you have Musa Nyatama (Swallows FC) as a coach who is only qualified with CAF C Licence, or Morgan Mammila as technical director, it means the players are on their own.

    “You go to Golden Arrows, the two coaches there (Vusu-muzi Vilakazi and Mabhuti Khenyeza) do not have anything, and why do we expect our players to go and play in Europe. When are we going to make the right noises? We need to tell the PSL this is killing our football.

    “Also, why do we have coaches from abroad who have not won anything in 10-15 years?”

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  • Safa adamant they can adopt resolutions without the PSL

    Safa adamant they can adopt resolutions without the PSL

    South African Football Association (Safa) bosses are urging their members to be brave and fearless, and to adopt proposed changes that could drastically change the landscape of South African football at their ordinary congress today.

    The recommended changes have not gone down well with PSL bosses, who decided to snub the Safa indaba on Friday and Saturday, and today’s ordinary congress.

    A Safa official who opted to remain anonymous, said that the congress was attended by Caf and Fifa and that Safa can adopt the proposed resolutions.

    “PSL is a Special Member and football statutes are drawn and ratified by Safa as the governing body,” said the official. 

    Safa is the football custodian in the country and the PSL the body in charge of professional club football. Irvin Khoza is PSL chairman, while Danny Jordaan is Safa president.

    Another high-ranking Safa official told Sunday World that with Fifa and Caf at the indaba supporting the national association, it was time for policy makers who are there to show that they are brave and not afraid to implement change.

    Safa held its NEC meeting and strategic session on Friday and Saturday at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni.

    Today, it will convene its ordinary congress, where the mooted changes are expected to be rubber-stamped.

    Among the proposals that have angered the PSL are the club licensing issues, the proposal for coaches in the PSL to have Caf A licence certificates, the DStv Diski Challenge competition and the professionalisation of women’s football.  

    However, the PSL is of the opinion that Safa wants to shut down professional football and that by attending the congress, it will be tacitly approving the resolutions.  So, the next step is to meet with Caf president Patrice Motsepe and report the actions of its member association for violating its own constitution. PSL claims that Safa, by discussing matters relating to professional football in a meeting where the body whose mandate is to run football is not in attendance, is in violation of its own constitution.

    Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said that league’s decision to snub the weekend’s events caught him by surprise.

    “When you get a letter without informing you of the reasons, you need to get the reasons first before you respond,” Motlanthe said. “We are seeking more information as to what the issues are and after hearing their side, we will see if we can meet and resolve the issues,” said Motlanthe.

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  • Safa and PSL head honchos on collision course

    Safa and PSL head honchos on collision course

    The tension between the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the South African Football Association (Safa) is fast reaching boiling point.

    This after the PSL executive committee resolved to snub the Safa football workshop/Indaba and the ordinary congress at the Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni at the weekend.

    The workshop/Indaba will kick off on Friday and wrap up on Saturday with the ordinary congress scheduled for Sunday.

    Safa are the football custodians in the country and the PSL is in charge of professional club football.

    On Thursday, the league bosses released a statement announcing their decision, which has left the football fraternity in a state of shock.

    The PSL also wants to have a meeting with Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe, and other important stakeholders.

    Reads the PSL statement: “The monthly meeting of the Premier Soccer League executive committee was held today, Thursday the 20th of April 2023, rather than on the last Thursday of the month due to the upcoming celebration of Freedom Day.

    “The executive committee discussed the agenda circulated by the South African Football Association for a workshop/Indaba of the association’s regional members set for the 21st and 22nd of April, which is to be followed by the ordinary Safa congress on Sunday, the 23rd of April.

    “The executive committee unanimously resolved that the PSL would not attend the workshop/Indaba or the ordinary Safa congress.

    “The executive committee delegation will seek an urgent audience with the minister of sport, arts, and culture; the president of CAF; and the stakeholders that support professional football; and then call an extraordinary meeting of the PSL board of governors to report on the matter.”

    This is a developing story …

     

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  • SA ambassador in a bid to free kidnapped Gallants officials

    SA ambassador in a bid to free kidnapped Gallants officials

    The South African government, via the SA ambassador to Tunisia, Siphosezwe Masango, are intervening in the release of the two Marumo Gallants officials who are being held in a Benghazi hotel in Libya after allegations that their club left them with an unpaid bill of about R700 000.

    South Africa closed its embassy in Libya in 2012 after the Arab Spring Uprisings of 2011, which toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The embassy was moved to neighbouring Tunisia. Masango is also reports on Libya and has told Sunday World that they are applying diplomatic pressure to secure the release of the two Gallants employees who are being held captive at the Al Fakhama hotel suite in Libya.

    Gallants media officer Rufus Matsena and physio Dina Dlomo are still in Libya, 13 days after the club’s CAF Confederation Cup match where the South Africans were thumped 4-1 by Al Akhdar on March 19.

    The hotel owner claims that Gallants owe him about R700 000 after they assisted the SA team during their stay.

    “I have had discussions with the Libyan chargé d’affaires (head of a diplomatic mission) to Tunisia,” said Masango from Tunis on Friday.

    “It’s just that Libya is a Muslim country and on Friday everyone is not working and there was not much movement.

    “They told me the ministry of foreign affairs in Libya called the hotel owner Dr Ali Al-Zargha and gave him the instruction to release the two. The hotel owner must be arrested for kidnapping or holding people hostage,” he added.

    “Our people cannot be held hostage because this is breaking international laws. I cannot go to Libya and use force because I am deployed in Tunisia. I just report on Libya.

    “We are trying to get the police in Libya to go and fetch the two South Africans. Whether they owe or not, the matter must be settled legally. You cannot hold people to ransom.

    “Rufus and Dhlomo work for the club. They do not owe the hotel in their personal capacity. The minister must issue an instruction to the police in Benghazi to fetch them and take them to the airport,” added Masango.

    “I have also spoken to Gallants owner Abram Sello, who said that he will buy the tickets for the two when they are released from the hotel.

    “Another challenge is the language barrier. Libya chargé d’affaires to Tunisia Mustafa Mohammed does not speak English and we needed to have an interpreter, which has prolonged things. But we are intervening, and we are communicating with the two South Africans and their club, and hope to have the matter resolved quickly so that they can go home.”

    Yesterday, Masango said there were no new developments. “Kindly note that Fridays and Saturdays is weekend in Libya. Government offices are closed for business. The offices will open today (Sunday).”

    Efforts to reach Marumo Gallants owner Sello and the South African Football Association CEO Tebogo Motlanthe were not successful as their phones rang unanswered.

    Matsena confirmed he was still in Libya but referred all enquiries to Masango.

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