OPINION: ‘Jordaan must go’ chant won’t change anything at Safa

I was invited to various radio stations during the run-up to the Safa elections as they solicited my views on the matter. There was a lot of talk from different factions.  

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But the most vocal were those that wanted Danny Jordaan overthrown. They came up with all sorts of accusations and highlighted every failure during his tenure.  

His biggest opponent, although only on paper, was Ria Ledwaba. I argued that there was nothing new that Ria would bring us. She was making valid points, yes, but she had been in the same set-up for a long time and had not pushed for those ideas to be implemented.  

I also mentioned how we are so upset now only because we are close to the elections, and we would recoil back to our shells again once the elections are over.  

And it has not even been two months, and Jordaan is sitting pretty in his position, and everything has quietened down. You would swear there were not any storms at all.  

But it is how we are as the South African football industry – all talk and no action. We were talking about the changes that are needed at Safa House because it was a hot topic then.  

I wonder if those problems have suddenly disappeared and will reappear again in four years’ time when the presidency is up for re-election again. I would expect that people like Ria and Solly would continue to fight the good fight of changing our football.   

It is after all at grassroots level where our football needs to change. I am sure with all her experience and connections. Ria can get funding to start the programme of integrating the former professional players into development at schools level.  

She does not need to be Safa president to make a difference. She just needs to have the willpower to want to make a difference which I doubt she has.  

And some of the people who were mentioned as possible future Safa presidents like Lucas Radebe and Doctor Khumalo should be encouraged to start their campaigns now.  

They should start by joining the Safa structures at local levels and work their way up. This, not just because it is a requirement of the Safa statuettes. But also because it would open their eyes to the real problems the organisation has. 

Safa’s problem is not only that their flagship programme Bafana Bafana is wailing and fast becoming non-competent, but that there are no proper development plans that speak the same language from bottom to the top.  

We expect a development strategy to come from the top and filter down to the local structures. That is unlikely to work. The plan is workshopped by people who do not have an inkling of the problems that coaches face. 

That is why having someone start from that level and work their way up to the Safa presidency could possibly be our only hope of changing things. As it is now, we don’t know what we want in development as a country.  

I lost all hope I had when I saw how people are encouraging showboating – or let me be politically correct and call it ‘kasi flavour’ that was displayed in the DStv Diski Shield games recently.  

Some were saying youngsters should be allowed to be expressive like that. Others argued that they should be taught from that young age to play responsibly.  To always think about the good of the team and not individual shine.  

That we are still having these arguments in this day and age just goes to show that our problems are way bigger than who is Safa president. Our football problems need dedicated people. Not power-hungry wolves who wear sheepskin just to get into positions of power and influence.