Use of FNB Stadium as media venue questioned

THE Football Transformation Forum (FTF) is asking questions as to why proposed potential election opponents of South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan continually use the FNB Stadium in Soweto as a media conference venue.

The FTF is the body which backed Jordaan becoming president of Safa.

FTF secretary-general Mzwandile Maforvane questioned the link between the company that runs FNB‚ Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA)‚ and proposed Safa presidential candidates Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana and Andile “Ace” Ncobo.

SMSA chief executive Jacques Grobbelaar and Ncobo‚ though‚ labelled the FTF’s suggestion that the company might support the removal of Jordaan as Safa president absurd and paranoid.

Both Ncobo and Nonkonyana have held media conferences at FNB.

Both withdrew their candidacies for the Safa presidency in the now-cancelled elections‚ but both have also been vocal in their desire to see Jordaan unseated.

“We are concerned about the involvement of SMSA in this whole saga‚” Maforvane said.

“Because we have realised that these guys [Ncobo and Nonkonyana] are using their facilities and they might have said that they have acquired the facilities.

“But once you have your branding‚ it shows that you are also marketing yourselves‚ you are also benefiting from something.

“When those conferences are held, the Stadium Management branding is part of that.

“When ‘Chief’ [Nonkonyana] held his first media conference at FNB‚ the branding was there‚ and in the two that Ace held.

“The FTF feel there is some collusion to remove Jordaan as Safa president.”

Grobbelaar said SMSA’s aim was to make the stadium profitable‚ with a priority on functions‚ product launches and media conferences.

He said it was the individual client’s choice whether to bring their own branding to cover up the SMSA branding.

Sisa Majola‚ the campaign manager for Nonkonyana and media representative for Ncobo‚ said: “SMSA and FNB Stadium are an independent entity who avail the facility to any prospective client.

“It is absurd that anyone can be [so] paranoid [as to] to suggest such nonsense.”