Radebe deserves the chance to lead Safa

Ithink I need to first make it clear that I have no personal gripe with anyone in the current Safa leadership, except that I sometimes feel they are not doing enough to ensure we progress as a footballing nation.

I made that opening statement because what I am going to talk about here may be misconstrued as either an attack on the current leadership or a vote of no confidence. It is not about either.

Now let me get to the point before you accuse me of blabbering on without making sense like some leaders I know. I joke.

I was really disappointed to read that Lucas Radebe will not run for the Safa presidency because he is ineligible because he has not served under any official structure of the organisation tasked with running our football from grassroots to the top. I know I should have known better and read on the rules and regulations in terms of how one enters the race for the top job in local football. But I have long had a dream where someone who has played the game at the highest level would run its official structure and maybe come up with new and practical ideas to better serve our game.

You can try to blame me for having this dream, but having witnessed the progress our neighbours Zambia have made since their former star, Kalusha Bwalya took over, you will forgive me for this. And Radebe’s demeanour makes it easy to see him as a capable candidate for this job.

Radebe is one of the former players who, when you meet them

Sibongiseni Gumbi

can’t help but call them by their real name and speak to them as professionally as you can. It is not like when you meet someone, like let’s say Mark Fish for instance – and I am not making an example of him because of his recent misdemeanour where he “killed” Sipho Mabuse while trying to pay tribute to Bra Hugh Masekela on Twitter.

When you meet Fish, or Helman Mkhalele, or Phil Masinga, you can easily address them by their nicknames. “Fiiiiiish” is something that I think Mark has gotten used to that even he forgets sometimes and thinks that is how his surname is pronounced. It is the same for Mkhalele. “Midnight Express” or “Mancane” are names they are commonly associated with.

And again, I mean no harm to these fine gentlemen of the game by using their names to clarify my point. And the recent appointment of former Liberian player, George Weah as state President – yes you read that right, State President – of that country only served to make me even more open to the idea of the man we used to shout “Rhoo” whenever he touched the ball becoming the Safa president.

But maybe it is good that he can’t get in now. This means Radebe has to enter the Safa structures from the bottom which will help him grow and learn more from the grassroots so that when or if he eventually becomes the top guy, he knows the issues at all levels of the organisation and doesn’t have to rely entirely on others who might have their own vendettas for information.

I just hope the door is not closed on him since he has made it clear he wants the top job because there are those who are already inside who might feel they also deserve a shot.

I am not sure which was more painful. Reading the Phakaaathi Plus headline in the The Citizen on Friday which put it bluntly: “Danny to stay on as Safa prez, finish and klaar” or learning that Radebe cannot stand for election.