Jordaan, Zungu Cleared for SAFA Showdown as Governance Committee Finalises Candidate List

JOHANNESBURG – The South African Football Association’s presidential race is officially on.

Incumbent Dr Danny Jordaan and challenger Sandile Zungu have both been cleared to contest SAFA’s Elective Congress on 12 September, setting up the first genuinely contested presidential election in years.

The contest will take place against a complicated backdrop for Jordaan, who has led SAFA since 2013 and is currently facing a criminal fraud case linked to a public relations contract allegedly awarded by the federation ahead of the 2018 elections.

SAFA’s independent Governance Committee handed its final vetting report to the association’s leadership at SAFA House on Friday, confirming that both presidential candidates, as well as dozens of nominees for the National Executive Committee, provincial structures, and Special Member positions, had met the eligibility requirements set out in the association’s statutes.

Governance Committee chairman Dr Victor Mogajane said the 20-day process had been completed successfully.

“Let me take this opportunity to thank the members of the Governance Committee who ensured that the eligibility test was conducted on time, and therefore with gratitude and confidence that we have been able to complete the exercise,” Mogajane said.

ALSO READ: SAFA Says R20-Million VAR Grant Untouched As It Seeks DSAC’s Patience Over Stalled Rollout

“The results have been submitted to the SAFA management, who will in turn communicate this to their respective nominees. We therefore believe that the process was indeed above board.”

Mogajane was accompanied by deputy chairperson Tumi Dlamini, Anzel Laubscher and Abel Ramolotja when the list was handed to SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao.

On the presidential contest, there was no ambiguity.

“In terms of the presidential list, we received two nominations, and I can confirm that both candidates are eligible to stand,” Mogajane said.

That confirmation clears the way for what could be one of SAFA’s most consequential presidential contests in more than a decade.

A presidential contest 13 years in the making

Jordaan has occupied the SAFA presidency since 2013, when he defeated Kirsten Nematandani.

He subsequently survived two further challenges and ran unopposed in 2018 after his only challenger withdrew. His re-election bid this year is therefore significant not simply because he faces an opponent, but because Zungu has emerged as a serious challenger to a presidency that has dominated South African football politics for more than a decade.

Zungu, chairman of AmaZulu FC and a prominent figure in South African business, entered the race in July on a platform centred on governance reform and the revival of school football.

He has argued that school football has “all but vanished” in large parts of the country and has positioned its revival as central to rebuilding South Africa’s football pipeline.

His campaign received a boost when SAFA vice-president Bennett Bailey, who had previously been viewed as a possible presidential challenger, withdrew from the race and backed Zungu, citing confidence in his “leadership qualities and business sense”.

Former presidential candidate Ria Ledwaba has also been reported as one of those supporting Zungu.

Former Bafana Bafana star and administrator Jomo “Black Prince” Sono has weighed into the debate without formally endorsing either candidate.

Sono has urged delegates to assess both men on their records rather than on personal relationships or familiarity.

“It’s difficult to bet on a horse that has never been on the race track before,” Sono said of Zungu’s limited experience within SAFA’s internal structures.

At the same time, he cautioned that Jordaan’s lengthy tenure should “be viewed through a balanced lens.”

Clearance does not erase Jordaan’s legal troubles

While the Governance Committee has confirmed that both candidates satisfy SAFA’s technical eligibility requirements, its decision does not address the legal questions surrounding Jordaan.

The committee’s mandate was to determine whether nominees complied with the eligibility provisions in SAFA’s statutes. It was not a determination of criminal liability or innocence.

Jordaan, who turns 75 on 3 September, was arrested in November 2024 alongside businessman Trevor Neethling and a co-accused by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation unit.

The State alleges that Jordaan breached SAFA protocol by directing the association to appoint Neethling’s public relations company, Grit Communications, ahead of the 2018 SAFA elections.

The contract is alleged to have cost SAFA about R1.3 million.

Prosecutors contend that the arrangement was intended, at least in part, to enhance Jordaan’s personal image ahead of the election rather than advance SAFA’s institutional interests.

Jordaan has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that the arrangement was legitimate and served the federation’s interests.

The matter has been postponed several times and is expected to return to court in late November, with a High Court judgment anticipated around the same period.

That means the case is unlikely to be resolved before delegates vote on 12 September.

The legal controversy is not the first cloud to have hung over Jordaan’s presidency. A year before the Grit Communications matter, he faced a rape allegation, which he denied. The allegation did not prevent him from retaining his political standing within SAFA.

Questions over the voting environment

Beyond the candidates themselves, questions have also emerged about the environment in which the election will be contested.

Suspended former SAFA NEC member Monde Montsioa has publicly claimed that some regional delegates are reluctant to openly support Zungu because they fear disciplinary action.

Montsioa has also raised wider concerns about the conduct of elections in several SAFA regions.

SAFA has not publicly responded to those specific allegations.

The Governance Committee’s report does not appear to address such complaints, given that its role was focused primarily on determining whether candidates met the technical requirements for eligibility.

The issue could nevertheless become an important part of the wider debate around the credibility of the election.

Who else made the cut?

The presidential contest is only one part of the election.

The confirmed National list includes Mxolisi Sibam, Mzimkhulu Fina, Solomon Mkhabela, Anastasia Tsichlas, Bennett Bailey, Linda Zwane, Poobalan Govindasamy and Tankiso Modipa, among others.

The Provincial list includes Mosimanegape Mathe, Andile Ngconjana, Bonginkosi Job Mchunu, Kwenzakwakhe Ngwenya, Jack Maluleka, Lebogang Riet and Leanne Jonkers, among others.

In the Special Member category, the Governance Committee confirmed Premier Soccer League chairman Irvin Khoza, Thokozile Madlala, Kaizer Motaung and Sifiso Biyela.

What is at stake?

The election will determine more than who occupies the SAFA presidency for the next term.

The winner will inherit an association that has faced sustained scrutiny over its governance, finances and relationship with its regional structures, even as the national team’s fortunes have improved under coach Hugo Broos.

Zungu has made the economic potential of football a central theme of his campaign.

ALSO READ: Jessica Motaung Tipped For Top SAFA Post

“If we get our soccer right as an industry, not only will the pride of the people be restored, but most importantly it will be able to” contribute meaningfully to GDP and job creation, he has argued.

Jordaan, meanwhile, enters the contest with the advantages that come with incumbency and more than a decade at the head of South African football.

His campaign will ultimately be judged against that record, while Zungu must convince delegates that his promise of reform and a new direction outweighs his relative lack of experience inside SAFA’s political structures.

For now, the procedural question has been settled.

Both men are eligible.

The next question is whether delegates believe SAFA needs continuity or change.

On 12 September, they will decide.