Tsamaya

This week’s soccer buzz

● The South African Football Association’s presidential race is starting to resemble a badly produced episode of the Surf Pick a Box show and it seems there is no shortage of people lining up to take their turn guessing where the keys to the Safa House front gate are hidden.

A motley crew of individuals have crawled out of the woodwork at such an alarming rate in the past couple of days that some of us have become indifferent to the endless parade of pretenders. Incumbent Danny Jordaan thought he had this thing sewn up weeks ago but he’s been unable to shake off Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, Lucas Radebe, Tokyo Sexwale, Mandla Mazibuko and Ace Ncobo.

They’ve been snapping at heels and it will be interesting to see who’s still standing after the closing date for nominations later this month.

This Safa soapie has more bubbles than the washing powder. ● There was a young man from southern Joburg who had the temperament of an iceberg.

That was until he became a football writer in 1979, and from there he went into decline. He once literally did almost blow up a plane carrying our beloved national team. Luckily Mark Fish came to their rescue with a rugby tackle of the smoking man who let out a scream.

When on tour he would always forget his laptop power pack and be in a panic. And when filing at stadiums he would take on a facial expression quite manic.

Every Africa Cup of Nations was his “last trip, this time for sure”.

But he’d always come back somehow having discovered a cure. We always loved him because he was kind and gentle with such a good laugh. He started writing for newspapers while some of the Tsamaya detectives were a mere idea in their fathers’ heads. We’ll miss 105-yearold Billy “Panic Mechanic” Cooper the Trooper, who finally retired this week, like a giraffe. Now that the grandfather has taken his rocking chair on the porch, that kindergarten prefect Kgomotso Mokoena must not turn the place upside down.