30 April 2019 – SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan has implored influential members of various FAs on the continent to do more to curb age-cheating which was one reason stifling growth.

Addressing Technical Directors from more than 20 countries on the African continent, Dr Jordaan said age cheating was mostly associated with the African continent and it was high time this unhelpful practice was brought to an end.

He also said the job of such workshops, in which top football brains gather in one room, was to find ways to grow the game on the African continent.

But his main message to the TDs was to use their influence and help Africa reduce or completely eradicate the age cheating problems. SAFA has made great strides in this area in past 24 months, since the introduction of the MYSAFA player registration system.

He said it was disheartening that Africa had done well in various young age groups including the Olympics but faltered at the highest stage, the FIFA World Cup.

He said the TDs should also deliberate why all five African countries bombed out of the Russia World Cup in the first round. TDs should draw up programmes that suit African players and not rely on overseas players to do the job for the respective countries.

He gave an example of Egypt who he said used to dominate Africa with wholly home-grown players and asked why this could not be sustained or emulated by other countries.

The third leg of the TDs workshop is being held in Johannesburg and ends on Friday, 3 May 2019.