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The South African Football Association (SAFA) elections panned out exactly the way I had predicted.
I had said that the way things were shaping up, we were likely to have a situation of a winner-takes-all, where the winners occupied all the positions and the group that loses is left out in the cold.
What this means is that people voted on cliques and not based on the required skills.
What this has done in turn, is to create a difficult situation for newly-elected president, Danny Jordaan.
He will have to use his unifying skills to their best as unity is of utmost importance if our football is to go anywhere.
Among those who lost out, is Dr Victor Ramathesele who failed to garner enough votes to be in the national executive committee (NEC).
I can guarantee you; his loss was no reflection of his ability, but a result of backing a wrong horse, if you may.
Dr Ramathesele was in the group that backed Mandla “Shoes” Mazibuko for president and they were trounced at the elections.
It will be a pity if Dr Ramathesele was to be left out of South African football with all the skills and experience he has. You see, he took up sports medicine when it was still not fashionable, first with Jomo Cosmos and later with Bafana Bafana.
Today, he is both a Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA instructor.
It would really be sad if he was to be left out.
Unity aside, Jordaan and company have their work cut out for them as they take over an organisation whose staff at their Nasrec head office has reached its lowest ebb, an organisation that has been bleeding money for years... actually one can say that it’s a malfunctioning structure.
Even using the word organisation in the same sentence with SAFA, does not feel right.
Jordaan has promised a “total reconstruction” of South African football. We have had so many promises to fix our football in the past that many have grown weary of promises and would prefer action. You can’t blame them either.
All that is needed now is action, action and more action from the new leadership to steer the ship back into calm waters.
To Jordaan and company, the nation is looking up to you to steer the ship that is South African football back to calm and clear waters. Don’t you dare let them down!
On another matter, congratulations to Platinum Stars on winning the MTN8 Cup.
But once more, the point I made last week, came to the fore.
The final produced just two goals as it ended in 1-all stalemate even after extra-time, meaning only two goals were scored in 120 minutes of soccer.
Even the penalty shootout, only produced a 3-1 scoreline for the victors. That’s an injustice to the capacity crowd that made it to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the pouring rain.
I still maintain our football authorities need to do something about this lack of goals in our football. I can hear you ask, what have the authorities to do with it if strikers don’t know where the poles are? Well, it is up to the authorities to ensure that our football produces top quality players all round.
When there is a lack of goals, it’s not only a reflection on the players, but those in charge of producing and grooming them.
This needs some serious attention. And now!
S’Busiso Mseleku is regarded as one of Africa's leading sports journalists and an authority on football. He has received some of the biggest awards in a career spanning well over 20 years. He is currently City Press Sports Editor.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
I had said that the way things were shaping up, we were likely to have a situation of a winner-takes-all, where the winners occupied all the positions and the group that loses is left out in the cold.
What this means is that people voted on cliques and not based on the required skills.
What this has done in turn, is to create a difficult situation for newly-elected president, Danny Jordaan.
He will have to use his unifying skills to their best as unity is of utmost importance if our football is to go anywhere.
Among those who lost out, is Dr Victor Ramathesele who failed to garner enough votes to be in the national executive committee (NEC).
I can guarantee you; his loss was no reflection of his ability, but a result of backing a wrong horse, if you may.
Dr Ramathesele was in the group that backed Mandla “Shoes” Mazibuko for president and they were trounced at the elections.
It will be a pity if Dr Ramathesele was to be left out of South African football with all the skills and experience he has. You see, he took up sports medicine when it was still not fashionable, first with Jomo Cosmos and later with Bafana Bafana.
Today, he is both a Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA instructor.
It would really be sad if he was to be left out.
Unity aside, Jordaan and company have their work cut out for them as they take over an organisation whose staff at their Nasrec head office has reached its lowest ebb, an organisation that has been bleeding money for years... actually one can say that it’s a malfunctioning structure.
Even using the word organisation in the same sentence with SAFA, does not feel right.
Jordaan has promised a “total reconstruction” of South African football. We have had so many promises to fix our football in the past that many have grown weary of promises and would prefer action. You can’t blame them either.
All that is needed now is action, action and more action from the new leadership to steer the ship back into calm waters.
To Jordaan and company, the nation is looking up to you to steer the ship that is South African football back to calm and clear waters. Don’t you dare let them down!
On another matter, congratulations to Platinum Stars on winning the MTN8 Cup.
But once more, the point I made last week, came to the fore.
The final produced just two goals as it ended in 1-all stalemate even after extra-time, meaning only two goals were scored in 120 minutes of soccer.
Even the penalty shootout, only produced a 3-1 scoreline for the victors. That’s an injustice to the capacity crowd that made it to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the pouring rain.
I still maintain our football authorities need to do something about this lack of goals in our football. I can hear you ask, what have the authorities to do with it if strikers don’t know where the poles are? Well, it is up to the authorities to ensure that our football produces top quality players all round.
When there is a lack of goals, it’s not only a reflection on the players, but those in charge of producing and grooming them.
This needs some serious attention. And now!
S’Busiso Mseleku is regarded as one of Africa's leading sports journalists and an authority on football. He has received some of the biggest awards in a career spanning well over 20 years. He is currently City Press Sports Editor.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
