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Cape Town - South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has been dodging meetings with a group of FIFA delegates, according to widespread reports.
According to IOL, Jordaan was scheduled to meet the delegation last week in connection with SAFA’s alleged corrupt bid to secure the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
It has been reported that a three-man strong delegation team from Switzerland arrived in South Africa on Monday, November 7 to meet with Jordaan.
The delegation was invited by SAFA’s chief executive, Dennis Mumble, in order to clear the air regarding the allegations made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that payouts for three votes were made during the bid for the 2010 World Cup edition.
The FBI has been probing SAFA since early 2015 after it was reported that South African officials allegedly paid more than R120m ($10m) in bribes to host the 2010 World Cup to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Jordaan served as chief executive of SAFA’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) which handled matters in securing the 2010 World Cup.
Altogether 38 football bosses and businessmen in the past 18-months have been arrested by the FBI in connection with bribes to secure a World Cup bid under the reign of Sepp Blatter, who was replaced by Gianni Infantino in February.
However on Saturday, hours before Bafana Bafana’s Soccer World Cup qualifier against Senegal, SAFA released a statement saying that Jordaan along with Irvin Khoza, Tokyo Sexwale and Molefi Oliphant met with the delegation to assist “in a series of engagements with FIFA based on SAFA's offer to help FIFA to restore the reputation and integrity of football.”
"Earlier this year the president of SAFA, Danny Jordaan, directed that the association offer support to FIFA for its restitution claim.
"Irvin Khoza, Tokyo Sexwale, Danny Jordaan, Molefi Oliphant and several others have been assisting FIFA to collect information to support the claim. We have had numerous engagements including hosting officials in this process this week.
"All the SAFA officials provided documents to FIFA. In addition, two officials, including Dr Oliphant, met with FIFA this week and Dr Jordaan and Mr Sexwale will meet FIFA next week."
But sources revealed that Sexwale has been out of the country, while Oliphant was the only one mentioned to have met with the delegation on Wednesday, November 9 at 11:00.
According to SAFA’s Head of Communications, Dominic Chimhavi, Jordaan and Sexwale will meet with the delegation to further assist FIFA in hope of clearing SAFA’s name following the "ridiculous claims made by the FBI."
