Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture, has given the South African Football Association (SAFA) seven days, to submit a comprehensive report to the committee, following weekend brawls by officials at its meetings.
The committees’ remarks come after videos went viral on social meeting showing altercation among officials during a SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at its headquarters in Nasrec, south of Johannesburg.
According to the committee, similar incidents were also reported at the association meeting in the Free State.
The incident was sparked by some members of the NEC, who were calling for the removal of SAFA president, Danny Jordaan, accusing him of fraud, corruption, and bringing the association into disrepute.
The Chairperson of the committee, Joe McGluwa, says they want responsible and measured behaviour from SAFA leadership following what he described as embarrassing chaotic scenes.
“The committee expects SAFA as a national sport body to account for its actions in a manner consistent with good governance and good corporate practices.
SAFA is not a Mickey Mouse organisation but oversees the future of entities and South African athletes.
It handles billions of rands.
We condemn what we see on the videos, and we do not think it reflects well on an organisation that reports to Parliament,” said McGluwa.
In addition, McGluwa said the report must cover the conduct of officials and the decisions taken and whether they align with principles of the International Federation of Association Football’s (FIFA) fair play, accountability, and transparency.
The Chairperson said it is disappointing that such behaviour is displayed just few months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the US.
“How are we to excel in chaos and disruption?
With the FIFA World Cup looming it is imperative that South Africa’s football structures are prepared and credible on the global stage,” remarked McGluwa.
The committee has set a deadline of 18 March to receive the report.
Meanwhile, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, has condemned the incident.
“This is hugely embarrassing and shameful behaviour by the people tasked with running our football. We will be informing CAF and FIFA about our intention to investigate and take action.
We are hard at work bringing corporate sponsorship to SAFA to allow this nonsense,” warned McKenzie.
