The South African Football Association is introducing various functions and systems in an effort to enhance its capacity to deliver on Vision 2022 whilst at the same time, reviewing its statutes and governance regulations to ensure that they are fully aligned with those of FIFA.
The South African Football Association is introducing various functions and systems in an effort to enhance its capacity to deliver on Vision 2022 whilst at the same time, reviewing its statutes and governance regulations to ensure that they are fully aligned with those of FIFA.
The ethics and integrity framework of the Association is one of the functions currently receiving attention. As part of this process, the review of the SAFA Code of Ethics, the role and composition of the SAFA Standing Committee on Ethics, Safety and Security and Fair Play as well as systems with respect to the refereeing function and general administration in our leagues and competitions is under way.
We have commenced with workshops to educate our match officials about their obligations in terms of the SAFA Statutes and Article 18 of the FIFA Code of Ethics which deals with the duty of disclosure, cooperation and most importantly, to report maladministration, corruption and match fixing.
The first of these workshops took place on 17 and 18 January 2017 in Pretoria with all the members of the Referees panel who officiate in the Premier Soccer League and the National First Division. Similar workshops with clubs and match officials will take place in all provinces between February and April 2017, starting with Kwazulu Natal on 03 and 04 February 2017. The processes of appointing match officials for matches of the ABC Motsepe League and SAB League are also being tightened to eliminate any risks of irregular interference.
Match officials must sign an integrity declaration where they commit to uphold the values of ethical conduct and also confirm they understand that failure to report match fixing or attempts thereof will result in sanctions.
We have appointed a team of administrators to urgently address the backlog of match reports that result in payments not being made. Match Officials who have outstanding reports and payments are encouraged to cooperate with this process by ensuring that their tax, bank details, residential address and other compliance information is up to date.
We are taking strong action against individuals and clubs that have transgressed our code of conduct and statutes. The outcomes of disciplinary cases will be shared extensively with the public on a weekly basis or as they occur.
In January 2017 we introduced the integrity phone line
The new contact numbers will not in any way replace the independent whistle blower hotline number,
We reconfirm our commitment to treat information with confidentiality in line with the whistle-blowing policy of the Association.
We look forward to your cooperation regarding the promotion of ethical conduct and efficient administration in South African football.