14 Feb 2018 – SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan has lashed out at football officials who normally come out during elections to enmesh the name of football to gain cheap publicity.
Speaking at the SAFA National Integrity workshop in Sandton, Dr Jordaan said it was sad because the damage caused by these unsubstantiated statements to the brand was immense, adding this was normally the norm during every election time.
SAFA goes for an elective congress on 24 March 2018 and Dr Jordaan said he was disappointed at some electioneering by certain individuals which bordered on harming people’s names.
Dr Jordaan said SAFA was one of the most transparent organisations with its finances handled by one of the most reputable financial houses, E&Y while external auditors audited the annual finances.
“So by making damaging allegations, indirectly you are attacking the integrity of an organisation like E&Y; that is unfair because we have always asked those with questions, whether media or any other interested stakeholder to come to SAFA and peruse our books. We have nothing to hide because we are not corrupt or have anything to hide,” he said.
He said it was sad that some people didn’t want to read the constitution of the sport and wanted to hide this shortcoming by throwing around unsubstantiated and damaging allegations to score mileage.
“The sad thing is that we are not in football for the rest of our lives; what these unfounded allegations do to the game of football is damage the brand, a brand that would be inherited by our children,” he said.
He said the 2010 Legacy Trust Fund which some people had found to be an easier target for disparaging remarks was presided over by FIFA; meaning if there was misuse of funds; it was tantamount to accusing the world governing body of poor governance.
The SAFA President blasted football officials who took bribes saying corruption had nothing to do with poverty.
“The most honest people on the African continent are from Burkina Faso and yet the country ranks among the poorest. You leave any valuable thing in Burkina Faso; you will find it the way you left it. So I insist there is no link between corruption and poverty.”
He challenged that there should not be any exchange of payment between a club owner and the referee calling it a recipe for disaster.
“To avoid tempting our match officials, we must pay our referees on time and their full amount. We also need programmes that will help referees beyond their retirement time,” he concluded.