SAFA 2021/22 Annual Report; Update on national team preparations; underage teams and development of football in schools

Meeting report

Overview  by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture

Ms Sumayya Khan, Deputy Director-General, Recreation and Sports Development, told the Committee that the financial support for the South African Football Association (SAFA) for the 2022 / 2023 financial year was R7 million. The support was earmarked for the following priority areas: R5 million for the Women’s League and R2 million for U17 World Cup Qualifiers. Since the inception of the SAFA Women’s League in 2019, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has provided R5 million annually for the league. This was purely for the development and professionalisation of women’s games.

She stated that the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) 2019 report indicated that football was predominantly transformed with 82 percent of participants being African while five percent were white.

The Department, together with all the provincial departments of sport, arts and culture and in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, worked with SAFA to deliver the School Sport Programme. The programme included supporting schools with football equipment and attire and training educators and community volunteers. Additionally, local school sport structures were supported to facilitate grassroots school sport activities.

The School Sport Programme included the annual National School Sport Championship (NSSC). The winning boys’ and girls’ under-15 teams won the 2022 Africa School Championships COSAFA Region Cup and qualified to represent the country in the continental stage of the competition in April 2023.

The coach of the girls’ team and five players were part of the National under-17 team that won the 2022 AUSC Region 5 Games in Malawi, which indicated the contribution of the programme to talent identification and development. Football also benefited from the School Sport Programme through four DSAC school sport educational campaigns, coordinated in partnership with LoveLife. The campaigns aimed to prevent age cheating, which was rife in football; safeguard children in school sport; and combat substance abuse.

She concluded by saying that the DSASC would continue to work with SAFA in developing and delivering football in the country.

Briefing by SAFA

Ms Lydia Monyepao, Chief Executive Officer, SAFA, based her presentation on Vision 2030. She informed Members that football strategic plans covered four-year periods from one FIFA World Cup to the next. The next steps would be looking back at Vision 2022 and looking forward to Phase One of Vision 2030. The 2022 elections introduced new National Executive Committee (NEC) members and signalled the end of Vision 2022. The new NEC had to plan for the next two cycles: 2022 to 2026 and 2026 to 2030.

She said Vision 2030 aimed to increase the global competitiveness and ranking of both the country and clubs. It was a comprehensive strategic and operational plan incorporating a monitoring mechanism to ensure effective implementation. The aim was to put in place an effective structure and working conditions that would allow the administrators to function efficiently and to raise the standard of play of all national teams. SAFA needed to achieve greater investment in football development. There had to be continued oversight to ensure all funds were used responsibly.

SAFA had placed its strategic plan within the context of the 11 key goals of FIFA. According to the plan, SAFA must achieve a world-class administration based on the targets set in 2013. The following appointments had to be made: Head of Women’s Football; Head of Commercial Affairs; Head of Referees; Safeguarding Officer.

SAFA would ensure that a full range of domestic competitions ran efficiently and regularly. These were the ABC Motsepe League; Hollywoodbets Super League; Sasol League; Kay Motsepe League; National Schools’ League; Men’s and Women’s Regional Leagues; and interprovincial tournaments for under-17 and under-19 men and women. A SAFA FA Cup Women’s Knockout would be introduced. International competitions that would be revived were the Four Nations, Nelson Mandela Challenge, and Winnie Mandela International Challenge.

All nine national teams had to participate in COSAFA, CAF and FIFA competitions. The performance of the teams in these competitions must be planned and presented to the technical committee and reported to the NEC.

The national teams had to rank in the top two in COSAFA, top 10 in CAF and top 50 in FIFA. The clubs of men and women must rank in the top 10 in Africa.

SAFA was bidding for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The main rivals were a joint bid from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and bids by the  USA, Mexico and Brazil.

Ms Monyepao said that the number of registered women players had increased to 456 000 and over R300 million had been invested in women’s football over the period of Vision 2022. SAFA aimed to double the number of registered women players by 2030. SAFA had appointed female coaches for all the national women’s teams. Other female appointments were one SAFA vice president, four NEC members and two regional presidents. SAFA planned to also increase the number of female coaches, referees, technical officials and administrators.

They had seen an investment in the education of women with 85 percent of Banyana Banyana players holding at least one university degree and many earning scholarships to combine study and football at tertiary institutions abroad. SAFA believed that education made its women footballers more resilient, team-spirited and better able to cope with the pressures of playing for the national teams in particular. This trend was expected to continue with UNISA announcing that it was granting bursary opportunities to the AFCON champions.

Football technology should be used to improve the quality of the game. The next season will introduce a virtual assistant referee (VAR) system.

SAFA would ensure that football had an impact on society. It brought people together, inspired the youth, promoted team spirit and discipline and created national and global role models.

Mr Moremi Klip, Competitions Manager, SAFA, mentioned that the PSL was considering increasing the number of teams from 16 to 18, increasing the pool of players available for Bafana Bafana selection. There were 16 teams in the Women’s National League. It needed to become fully professional by 2026 and should be broadened. 

During the Indaba and Annual Congress, it was proposed that the number of teams in the Hollywoodbets Super League should be increased to 18 teams and that the two additional slots should be offered to teams in the PSL on the basis of their historical contribution to football in the country. CAF club licensing requirements now stipulate that they must have a women's team before any PSL teams could play in the Champions League and Confederation Cup. Mamelodi Sundowns, TS Galaxy and Royal AM already had women's teams.

The FIFA Council had just approved the new match calendar which provided a few additional dates. South Africa had not been participating with their best players from the domestic professional league in the CHAN qualifiers and, as a result, rarely qualified for the CHAN finals. Therefore, the men’s senior national team had no preparatory matches and must go directly into AFCON and Football World Cup (FWC) qualification matches. SAFA used to organise a Four Nations Cup in the 1990s as preparation for AFCON and FWC qualification matches. This needed to be revived. SAFA had also decided that the COSAFA Cup must serve as a platform for mainly under-23 and fringe players. SAFA should review its approach towards COSAFA, CAF and FIFA competitions to ensure that the men’s senior national team is more active.

SAFA had embarked on the road for a bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The country had already hosted the FIFA World Cup 2010 and had the experience and the infrastructure to be a serious contender to host Africa’s first Women’s World Cup.

Mr Klip took the Committee through the Football for Schools (F4S) programme. He said it was a mass participation programme that aimed to contribute to the education, development and empowerment of boys and girls across South Africa with the support of the government and FIFA. The programme was launched in August 2022 at the SAFA Technical Centre and 52 educators were identified and trained as master trainers. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) gave permission to educators to attend the training. Fifty thousand soccer balls were given to South Africa to be distributed to schools. The programme was overseen by a national steering committee consisting of SAFA, the DBE and the DSAC.

Provincial steering committees would be established soon. Soccer balls were distributed to all provinces between January and May 2023. The provinces assisted in identifying schools to receive the balls. Provinces would select educators to participate in the provincial and regional training in 2023. Training would be implemented in all 52 regions.

Mr Klip said Kay Motsepe Schools’ Cup was without doubt the biggest football tournament for schools in Africa. Since its inception over a decade ago, it has positively changed the lives of individual learners, schools and communities with its unique legacy programme. The competition had unearthed talented school kids who had graduated to play for PSL and national teams. Like any other successful brand, the competition needed to be revamped and revived. SAFA, the DBE and the DSAC have been collating information about committees to ensure seamless coordination at all levels. Candidates to work full-time on the Kay Motsepe Cup at national level had been identified and were awaiting approval. The national coordinator and assistant would be based at SAFA headquarters. Communication and media personnel from all key stakeholders would play an integral role.

The High-Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria enjoyed huge support from the university and its expert staff. However, there was a need to increase the number of girls at the centre from the current 15 to 25. The FIFA Talent Coach, Mr Dean Selvey, joined the programme for six months.

Concerning coach education, the delivery and operational mechanisms for the CAF D and C licences had been relatively smooth because of the support from regions, sponsors and other stakeholders. The intake of former professional players had been overwhelming, but the recruitment of female coaches could be better. SAFA manuals for CAF B and CAF A diplomas were not up to CAF standards and must be redrafted.

The SAFA Talent Identification Unit had been established. The appointments of David Nyathi as Head Scout and Aaron Mokoena as Assistant Head Scout signalled the beginning of the talent development trajectory essential for the growth of football in South Africa. The pair had already started refining the SAFA player profiling philosophy.

The SAFA Technical Centre remained a key point for football development. Both the under-17 national youth teams continued to benefit from the facility and Banyana Banyana who occasionally used the artificial turf. Accommodation at the centre had been upgraded although the standard of WI-FI connections across all networks continued to be a challenge. Another area requiring urgent attention was the maintenance of the grass field as it was often unplayable and bumpy when teams needed to use it. The possibility of using funding from FIFA must be looked into.

(Graphs and tables were shown to illustrate schools participating in the National Schools League; the organisational structure; soccer balls distribution plan; and schools leagues)

Discussion

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) asked why not even half of the 43-member SAFA NEC was in the meeting. He asked why SAFA had so many NEC members compared to many other countries. He asked that the Committee be provided with the resignation letter of the former CEO so that it could familiarise itself with the causes of his resignation. There had been no openness in the whole process. He enquired about the policy of SAFA on appointments and resignations.

He sought clarity on a R3 million loss from a FIFA loan. He asked how much the players in the national women’s team were paid per month, because there had to be equity in payment of players. He wanted to know how much was spent on the Legacy Trust and enquired about the departure of Ms Amanda Dlamini. He asked if matters related to Bafana Bafana were aligned with FIFA requirements.

Why was Vision 2022 not implemented fully? What was the impact of litigation in SAFA? What was the status of the criminal investigations involving the president of SAFA? He asked about the development of soccer in the 52 regions of the country and wanted to understand the implications of not having a full-time administrator. Why did the PSL boycott the SAFA Soccer Indaba?

Mr Linda Zwane, Vice President, SAFA, stated that there were nine provinces with regions. Each province had two representatives on the NEC. The PSL had four members in the NEC. There were also honorary members which comprised former members of the association. Compared to other countries, the dynamics were different.

When the CEO resigned, an emergency committee was called to deal with the matter. It resolved to appoint the Chief Operations Officer (COO) to replace the outgoing CEO, in terms of its powers. Subsequent to that, the NEC was consulted and 80 percent of its members concurred with the emergency committee. The former CEO had distanced himself from media claims, saying he was prompted by personal reasons to leave the association. A resignation letter leaked to the media was not his nor was it the one he presented to the association.

The Legacy Trust had been closed and a legal process was followed. The report on the closure would be submitted to the Committee. He was not at liberty to deal with the investigation involving the president of SAFA.

SAFA learned from the media that the PSL had decided to boycott the Soccer Indaba. The association has not yet received a response from the PSL about the matter. Relations between SAFA and the PSL were still in good shape.SAFA still supplied referees for all PSL games. The association had not found time to sit down and discuss the matter with the PSL. All the SAFA regions were functioning well, except the Amathole region in the Eastern Cape which was riddled with governance matters.

The CEO, Ms Monyepao, explained that Ms Amanda Dlamini was appointed as a commercial and marketing manager. She resigned to follow her passion for soccer analysis and wanted to grow in that space. She parted ways with the organisation amicably. Candidates for the administrator position have been shortlisted. An appointment would be made soon.

Mr Klip added that all leagues had administrators and regional coordinators.

Mr Gronie Hluyo, Chief Financial Officer, SAFA, stated that FIFA provided SAFA with an interest-free loan to restart football following the COVID-19 pandemic when some sponsors stopped funding. The FIFA loan was in US dollars and amounted to R22 million. The loan had to be revalued.

SAFA had taken a decision to pay Banyana players the same amount of money paid to Bafana players. The pay parity started the previous year. The only difference was that the national women’s soccer league was not fully developed. But in all SAFA games, the treatment was the same.

The Legacy Trust was closed in March 2023. No money was left in the bank account because funding ended. It was only for ten years. Audited financial audited statements had been received and financial reports were given to SAFA. The report would be shared with the committee. There had not been any changes concerning litigation cases. They involved labour issues where people had taken the association to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The SA Schools Football Association (SASFA) had lost a case against SAFA and the association was now trying to recover its money.

Ms V Malomane (ANC) wanted to know why there were no timeframes for Vision 2030. How was SAFA planning to monitor efforts to modernise football in the PSL clubs? What were the time frames for accelerating the growth of female football? Were there remedies in place to address the challenges in women’s football? He requested that the Committee be given a list of schools that received balls and asked how many educators attended the training.

Mr Zwane stated they had submitted a strategy plan to FIFA regarding Vision 2030. FIFA had indicated the association should confine itself to the 2026 programme for now.

Mr Hluyo said SAFA had been to the market to find funders for women's football.

Mr Klip said it was not possible for one school to have one ball because the association wanted mass participation. The schools had to make an application, and based on the merit of that, they would be given balls. Priority would be given to deserving schools.

Mr M Zondi (ANC) remarked that the performance of SAFA was measured against the performance of Bafana Bafana. Failures of Bafana were a direct reflection of the leadership of SAFA. The Committee had engaged with the leadership of SAFA and was pleased by their responses.

He asked about the proposal to have 18 teams in the PSL. When they were reduced to 16, Dr Irvin Khoza said the reason was that there were too few donors to support more. He commented that he was extremely pleased by the performance of the SA Under-17 team in CAF participation. He remarked that North-Western African countries always qualified for the World Cup because of support from their governments and the nurture of soccer at grassroots level. Bafana's failure to qualify for the Afcon tournaments was a big concern for the country. Another concern was that less money was spent on Banyana than on Bafana. Banyana were successful because most players were playing abroad.

Development of school sport was a good thing because that was where the country could get the talent needed at national level. Mr Zondi asked whether the soccer structures were stable. If they were not, there would not be any positive results. He wanted to understand how SAFA was going to deal with corruption and bad refereeing in the officiating of games in lower structures. How was SAFA Planning to deal with interference and corruption on the side of agents?

Mr Zwane said they were still engaging with the PSL about increasing the number of teams in the league. The numbers were reduced because of circumstances at the time. The problem now was that the pool for Bafana had been shrinking. They had to be realistic because the local leagues had 18 teams and the Hollywoodbets league would be increasing its teams from 16 to 18 as well. He said an under-15 national boys' team would be selected to play in international games. There were currently 15 girls at the High Performance Centre and it had been resolved to increase the number to 25. The under-17s did not qualify for AFCON, but they played in the COSAFA tournaments.

Mr Benett Bailey, SAFA vice president, said most questions from the Members were addressed in the Indaba Report. The draft report would be sent to the Committee. The association was stable because there had been provincial and regional congresses. The organisation had a strong ethics committee. For example, a referee had been suspended for matters related to bribes. Match commissioners attended events to look at corruption in the officiating of games.

Ms D Sibiya (ANC) wanted to understand how SAFA, through Vision 2030, was going to empower women to climb up the ranks worldwide. She asked for clarity on the CAF B coach education and wanted to know why South Africa was preparing for matches, yet not winning.

Mr Klip said the CAF B manual was being redrafted.

Mr Zwane said SAFA did not prepare players for losses. Players had to be given time to prepare for games. Sometimes it was difficult to get friendly games. It was not easy to bring children to a month-long camp because they attended schools.

Mr D Joseph (DA) suggested that the country should be playing sport under one banner. He did not understand why, after apartheid sport continued to be played under different names. For example, there were Banyana, Bafana, Proteas, Springboks, etc. He suggested that the SAFA constitution be amended and aligned with FIFA’s. He said the under-17s and under-19s were doing well, but results for Bafana were going downwards. Where did the matter of cheating on age come from and was there a remedy for it? He enquired about Bafana's current ratings and the plan going forward. 

He asked who owned the land on which SAFA premises and the FNB Stadium were built. What amount had been budgeted for legal expenses and did this amount to budgeting for in-fighting?

Mr Bailey stated that the constitution had been changed many times. He further mentioned that the Indaba Report addressed talent retention, because it had been identified that players were taking a dip after graduating from under-19 soccer. Playing under one name could be considered.

Mr Zwane said there was a history of why there were different names for different codes. South Africa did not have a problem of age cheating due to existing systems such as those of Home Affairs and MYSAFA. Age-cheating continued to happen in other countries and many had been disqualified. He stated Bafana were ranked 12 in Africa and 66 by FIFA. There were clear objectives on how to move forward. The association had been realistic in its approach because it wanted to play in the World Cup and African tournaments.

Regional leagues had to have structures for women or have 25 percent deducted from their grants. Challenges in rural areas were vast.

Regarding in-fighting, he stated that all democratic organisations experienced issues during elections because people had ambitions. SAFA did not see that as instability. There were processes and structures to remedy that. It did deviate from its focus on the provision of football in the country.

Mr Hluyo explained that SAFA House was built on land belonging to the Department of Public Works. There were discussions about dividing the land and retaining the piece with the SAFA structure. The process had been going on forever because ministers kept on changing, and that was where the Committee’s assistance was needed. The City of Johannesburg owned the FNB Stadium. SAFA could not upgrade the stadium because it belonged to the municipality. SAFA would also like the Committee to assist with that matter. 

Mr Mhlongo sought clarity on the R21 million he said was paid to NEC members before the Indaba and annual congress, which was meant to buy votes. That budget should have been used to develop the sport. He asked why Vision 2022 was not implemented fully. He inquired about the status of Fun Valley. He remarked that preparations for only one month were enough for a tournament. He commented that the current Bafana coach was over 70 years old. He said all ten vice presidents of SAFA were gone, but Dr Khoza was the only one who had survived.

Mr Zwane stated SAFA was not allergic to being accountable. NEC members never received the R21 million. What was reported in the media was incorrect. In the last congress, NEC members did not vote. He said the resignation letter of the CEO would be sent to the committee.

The highlight of Vision 2022 was the growth in women’s football. Prevailing circumstances dictated that preparations be short. Some players were playing abroad and were available during the FIFA breaks. At junior level, many achievements were recorded. Both girls and boys would be in the Olympics. Things that could not be achieved with Vision 2022 have been accelerated to Vision 2030. The report for Vision 2022 would be sent to the Committee.

Concerning the coach, he said the technical space was like the political space where over 60s were still active. It depended on the technical skills you wanted to employ. On the vice presidency matter, he said members from 52 districts voted, and losers would always have issues. He said Fun Valley referred to the SAFA Technical Centre.

Mr Hluyo said no amount of R21 million was paid to NEC members. It was fake news. SAFA paid honorariums to NEC members which were approved by members in the congress. The remuneration committee determined what needed to be paid. It was R124 000, and that was lower than in other associations. Teams were not prepared only for a month. It usually took seven months to prepare for a tournament.

Ms Malomane enquired about the total costs for court cases, and indicated that the SAFA Technical Centre should be prioritised.

Mr Hluyo said the association had spent R5 million defending itself in court cases. It had not initiated litigation. He said Banyana had not stayed at the Technical Centre for over two years but stayed in hotels.

Ms Sibiya sought clarity on improvements and maintenance at the SAFA Technical Centre.

Mr Hluyo said improvements and upgrades were made after the structure was bought. Grass pitches were built and there is also a pitch with artificial grass. A wall was erected around the structure to protect it. More needed to be done. The structure was bought in 2015 and R600 million was needed at that time for the upgrades. The association is still looking for funding to make it a better place. Some of the FIFA funds could be used for the upgrades.

Mr Joseph suggested SAFA should brief the Committee to see how things could be moved forward concerning the FNB stadium and SAFA House.

Mr Zondi proposed the Committee have an engagement with SAFA on the Soccer Indaba Report.

The meeting was adjourned.