Commission to probe match-fixing pre-2010

SOCCER world governing body Fifa, the South African Football Association (Safa) and Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula have agreed that an independent judicial commission of inquiry will be set up — but the mandate will be limited to investigating matters related to match-fixing allegations ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Safa president Kirsten Nematandani said the football body unanimously endorsed the decision. After their national executive committee meeting on Saturday night, Safa recommended no past or present local soccer administrators should be part of the commission.

In a statement sent out from Zurich this weekend, Fifa said: “An independent judicial commission of inquiry will be set up by the South African government. The mandate of this judicial investigation will be limited to matters related to the case of irregularities related to friendly matches in the buildup to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.”

Safa backed Fifa’s proposal that ethics committee chairman Michael J Garcia be involved in the commission, which Fifa said in its statement “is subject to constitutional approval by the (South African) government”.

This stems from Friday’s milestone agreement in Zurich after a meeting between Mbalula, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke and Nematandani.

In a statement released after the meeting, Safa said its executive committee agreed that the commission should complete its work within three months. “The commis- sion must submit its final report to the President of the Republic of SA within a period of one month after the date on which the commission completes its work,” it said.

Mbalula’s spokesman Paena Galane said: “We are aware Safa had an executive meeting on Saturday. We are waiting for them to tell us the outcome of the meeting.…”

Senior Safa officials — including Nematandani — were suspended in December after investigators from Fifa alleged that the national team’s results in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup had been fixed.

However, the suspensions were reversed in January after it emerged that the committee that suspended them had no power to do so. Sports Reporter, Ramatsiyi Moholoa