A South African Football Association (SAFA) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in preparation of Saturday’s Elective Congress in Midrand, was plunged into disorder.
The President of the South African Masters and Legends Football Association Jacob Buddha Mathathe claims he was evicted from the meeting because of his support for AmaZulu chairman Sandile Zungu in the SAFA presidential race.
Mathathe has been a SAFA NEC member since 2022.
The South African Masters and Legends Football Association, an organisation representing former players and officials, rocked up at the Midrand hotel where the SAFA NEC meeting was taking place, but for a peaceful protest.
The Association’s representatives demanded that their voices be heard at Saturday’s Elective Congress. But then Mathathe claims he was evicted from the NEC meeting because of his support for Zungu.
“I’m an NEC member, I’ve just been chased from a meeting as an NEC member, raising issues of me not to be nominated for the SAFA NEC position again. I was elected in 2022 to serve in the National Executive Committee and I was the first and only so far former professional football player to be nominated and serve in the NEC,” Mathathe explains
The Masters and Legends Association occupies a turbulent status in South African football, marked by recent exclusion from official SAFA processes and internal leadership disputes.
Association representatives and leadership have openly criticized SAFA’s Governance Committee, protesting alleged unfair vetting and a lack of formal integration for former players under the current leadership.
“Most of the people who want change in SAFA have been expelled in football and I was fortunate to have been advised by elders to take things easy because I could have been one of those who have been expelled from football in this country,” Mathathe elaborates.
On the flip side, Mathathe and his organisation acknowledged the contributions made by current SAFA President Danny Jordaan to SA football over the years.
“We wanted the transition to be smooth and dignified because of what the incumbent Dr Danny Jordaan has done for South African football,” Mathathe adds.
For now, the Masters and Legends Association will not decide the strategic direction of South African football for the next four years.
