Mashaba out to give the shakes to the man who sacked him

Sexwale is hellbent on becoming president of something before he dies

● Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba wants to sit at the head of the top table of the South African Football Association.

With everyone and their dog vying to get the top job of the national football association, Mashaba has entered the fray.

His is bidding to dethrone Danny Jordaan, the man who sacked him from the position of Bafana Bafana coach.

Safa ditched Mashaba as head coach of Bafana Bafana in December 2016, a move that was the culmination of his outrageous outburst after a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Mashaba’s name as a candidate for the Safa presidency has been put forward by the Gauteng chapter of the South African Masters and Legends Football Associations (Samlfa).

He is the chairman of Samlfa Gauteng. Since the opening of the nominations for the Safa elections, which will be held on March 24, a potpourri of personalities have sprung to the fore.

Former Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana and former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas “Rhoo” Radebe were the first to declare their interest in the job.

Their eligibility to stand was abruptly shot down by Safa national executive committee member Mzwandile Maforvane of the Football Transformation Forum, a Safa faction that delivered Jor- daan’s presidency.

Also mooted to be in the running for the March 24 election is a man who is seemingly hellbent on becoming president of something before he dies.

Tokyo Sexwale tried to be president of the ANC and of Fifa and ended emptyhanded in both endeavours.

A coalition of the wounded structure called the National Football Consultative Forum (NFCF), with Shoes Mazibuko and Nonkonyana as the driving forces, is persuading Sexwale to stand against Jordaan.

They seem to be working in tandem with the National African Football Supporters Association.

In an open letter to Jordaan, Nafsa accuses Safa of having “grown to be a beacon of shame that has become synonymous with scandals, maladministration, tribalism, infighting, and an ugly factional political battlefield”.

Irvin Dire, Samlfa Gauteng spokesperson, said: “People in the LFAs (local football associations) always complain that there are a lot of wrongs going on there. That is the reason why we don’t have a team that can compete continentally and globally because we struggle to get things down there first.

“If so many people are wanting to campaign for the presidency, it simply means there is something wrong in the upper echelons of Safa.

“It is an open secret that there is this national consultative forum, through the public they have Mr Tokyo Sexwale as their top candidate.

“I listened to Chief and listened to Shoes, who are saying they are pulling out in order to support Sexwale. As the Gauteng Masters and Legends Football Association, we have members in our structure, we also want to run for the presidency and we have a candidate to run for this seat.

“Looking at the people running for that position, we believe our candidate can compete. We are looking at the grassroots, which is not being taken care of.

“Having worked in Safa and interacted with almost anything that is football, we believe we have a candidate that can compete.

“Can he do better than a Danny Jordaan? The people will judge.

“We seem to be ignoring or neglecting our local football associations. That is the foundation.

“With Mashaba having knowledge of what is happening up there, we believe, and us knowing what is happening on the ground, the combination of that will carry us and people will understand why we want him to run.”

Mashaba will make his candidacy official when his organisation hosts a press conference on Wednesday.

Radebe has been whipped into silence. Sexwale has maintained his silence. Mashaba will break his as he seeks to dethrone the man who disposed of him.

Twitter: @bbkunplugged99