Hundreds attend farewell for Safa official
SA FOOTBALL Association national executive committee member Mzimkhulu Ndlelo, who shot dead his fiancée Babalwa Ndika before turning the gun on himself last month, was described as an honest and loyal administrator who had integrity.
Speakers at Ndlelo’s funeral at Ilinge township in Komani on Saturday spoke highly of him, saying he dedicated his life to improving the standard of soccer in the country.
Hundreds, including football administrators, businessmen, politicians and former players, gathered at Ilinge to bid farewell to Ndlelo.
Safa vice-president Xolile Nkompela described Ndlelo as a disciplined administrator.
“As the football fraternity in South Africa we lost a soldier, a person who knew the time of doing his football work voluntarily,” he said.
Nkompela spoke at the funeral on behalf of Safa president Dr Danny Jordaan, who was in Spain with Mamelodi Sundowns boss Patrice Motsepe to conclude a deal that will see Barcelona playing against the PSL champions later this month.
Ndlelo at the time of his suicide was a Safa NEC member, Safa Eastern Cape co-chairman and small enterprise development agency branch manager in Komani.
Other football administrators who came to pay their last respects included former Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, who had worked closely with Ndlelo at the association at provincial and national levels.
Nonkonyana said he was saddened by the demise of a man endowed with good leadership qualities.
He said it was a shame that a place like Ilinge township, which produced sport personalities like Ndlelo, still struggled without adequate playing grounds.
Former Fifa referee and PSL general manager Andile ‘Ace’ Ncobo told mourners he had received a copy of a letter from Ndlelo in response an earlier letter from Safa CEO Dennis Mumble to all the NEC Members.
He handed over the framed letter, signed by Ndlelo, to his daughter Nomancotshe.
Ncobo said Ndlelo “was a man of integrity”.
He was “loyal to the game and he was honest”, Ncobo added.