2 August 2019 – With close to 300 000 completed registrations and over 100 000 matches facilitated, the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) official player registration and competitions management system, MYSAFA, has taken the country’s footballing structures by storm.
Without employing referees or hiring fields, MYSAFA facilitates more sport than anyone else in Africa. It also has a growing record of who plays football, where they play and how they perform.
One particular province that has enjoyed the benefits of the software is the North West province that is currently hosting this year’s SAB U21 National Championships.
SAFA.net caught up with the Competitions Chairman from the Dr Ruth Mompati region, Mr George Lechuti. He shared his views on the system, his experiences with the support team and more.
“Honestly it is a very good system and at this early stage I would rate it highly. It has eliminated many glitches from before, especially in local leagues. It makes things very easy going forward,” said the Chairman.
He also offered a quick comment on the security aspect, hardware, as well as the Verifier App.
“The software is user-friendly and even the printing of cards is a simple process. There is no need to download any sort of template and this helps with security. You have to be online to complete the process. The Verifier App is great too and helps a lot. It is a pity that some teams don’t make use of this feature. Verbal complaints about the legitimacy of a player is now a thing of the past.”
Lechuti has been most impressed though, with the MYSAFA support team, who have led a smooth transition into this new, exciting era.
“At first it was tough getting used to the system. I wasn’t officially trained and had to quickly swim in the deep end. However, I could always rely on the support team in Port Elizabeth. They were very helpful and I am excited and happy now as they showed me the ropes. A special mention goes out to Romeo Bantu and Ntombekhaya ‘Ntosh’ Gandela who I always worry,” added Lechuti.
He also implored more training for administrators as it would be a good investment and mentioned a few benefits and advantages of the software.
“Manipulative personnel can no longer play a role now. MYSAFA will also help SAFA and their relevant scouts to track youth via key statistics and also helps determine how many good players we actually have, even at U15, U17 or U19 level. It makes it easy to track them too,” he said.
In closing, Lechuti had a quick thought regarding the MYSAFA website.
“It is laid out properly and is very modern. I am familiar with it and enjoy it. You can access, update and view logs and results via your phone, even if away from the office,” concluded Lechuti.
If you are a football administrator and would like more information or would like to try out the system, go to https://mysafaclubpro.com/