Sexwale drawn into Safa battle
Sy Lerman
Is it going to be a reality-type battle between a former premier and former mayor when Safa holds its presidential election on March 24? The intriguing possibility has surfaced with the emergence of former Gauteng premier and tycoon Tokyo Sexwale as a viable candidate to depose incumbent Safa president and former Port Elizabeth mayor Danny Jordaan from the top administrative position in South African football.
Already a whole stream of motley candidates, including suspended Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, former Bafana captain Lucas Radebe, former Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba and ex-Safa executive member Nakedi Lekota, had emerged to challenge Jordaan.
But for one reason or another none of the group, united in purpose to derail the existing Safa president and revitalising our football, appeared to have the credentials, qualifications or capability to fulfill the task.
The charismatic Sexwale is a totally different kettle of fish and he clearly has the ability to take on Jordaan and put him to the sword if he so wishes.
The issue here, however, is that Sexwale, with a host of other commitments and interests, while admitting he is willing to join the race for the Safa presidency under certain conditions, does not seem fully committed to the urgent proposition.
Sexwale believes a bitter race between rival factions for the presidency would damage Safa and he does not want to become involved in such a battle.
If his support is overwhelming and/or if Jordaan is prepared to bow out in favour of his former political colleague, Sexwale has said he is prepared to throw all his weight behind helping South African football to reach its former ranking at international level.
But don’t expect Jordaan to look at bowing out with any enthusiasm at all and ultimately Sexwale will need to change his stance and take on a no-holdsbarred fight for the presidency
This, it appears, is what the Jordaan faction within Safa has been busy implementing, proclaiming that almost all the candidates opposing the president are ineligible to stand for the top position because they are not existing members of the organisation.
Such tactics might well also be directed towards Sexwale, but are unlikely to wash with someone who is a major figure within Fifa, while heading the world body’s delicate Israeli-Palestinian investigative commission.