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Danny Jordaan subpoenaed in SAFA case

Cape Town - Grappling with the "hot potato" issue of Bafana Bafana's coaching issue, which comes to a head with suspended Shakes Mashaba's disciplinary hearing on Thursday, an under-pressure SAFA's problems do not end there.

The curious matter that has now dragged on for nine years in which SAFA is being sued for approximately R14m by its former travel agents, Fli-Afrika, recently flew into further bizarre territory when a distinctly reluctant president, Danny Jordaan, was subpoenaed to give evidence in court hearings against his own organisation.

The case relates to what Fli-Afrika claim was an agreement with SAFA for the sale of accommodation and ticket packages during the hosting of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

SAFA backed out of the proposed deal and Fli-Afrika was left with a R27m accommodation bill of which only an amount of R13m was recovered.

Fli-Afrika managing-director Nazeer Camarodeen confirmed that Jordaan had been subpoenaed after a great deal of stone-walling - but added that he could not comment further as the case was currently awaiting judgement.

SAFA officials, for their part, were also loathe to discuss the matter in view of the fact that it was now finally approaching finality after lengthy haggling and deliberating since the proposed deal was envisaged way back in 2007.

Fli-Afrika continued to act for SAFA until 2010, but the union began to fall apart immediately after the hosting of the World Cup - apparently because of the growing acrimony surrounding the aborted multi-million rand package deal.

And at one stage after Fli-Afrika had obtained a judgement against SAFA for the payment of the costs of postponing a hearing and when the national association failed to make the payment, the sheriff arrived at Soccer City to attach items.

The outstanding payment was then speedily made and any consequent embarrassment averted.

But by then the brotherly relationship between SAFA and Fli-Afrika had long since been transformed into something of a dog-fight.

And now the day of judicial judgement is fast looming as SAFA attempts to ward off something of another crisis.

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