8 December 2019 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) concluded its 2019 AGM with the general outlook looking rosy for the future.
The Association posted a loss of around R74m mainly because of the past impasse involving its partnership with the public broadcaster which was then worth R110m annually.
The two entities however signed a new deal last month, a move which instantly triggered a full throttle recovery programme with a number of sponsors immediately coming on board.
Among various new sponsors on the verge of concluding partnerships with the Association are a new kit sponsor, a banking institution, a beauty making product company, a new sponsor for Banyana Banyana while Bafana Bafana’s partnership with SAB is set to continue for another long term.
“While we might have posted a loss in this past year, things are looking rosier and great for the Association. We are definitely on the upward trend from here going forward,” said acting SAFA CEO, Gay Mokoena.
Mokoena also revealed that one of the game changers regarding the finances of the Association was the proposed subscription fee of R100 for each of the Association’s registered 3 million members which will generate over R300m annually.
SAFA President, Dr Danny Jordaan said most national teams had performed well on continental and global stage in line with SAFA’s Vision 2022. The success stories of the first phase of Vision 2022 include Banyana Banyana, the u17 women’s national team, the men’s u20 (Amajita) all qualifying for the FIFA World Cup while Bafana Bafana reached the 2019 AFCON quarter-finals in Egypt among others.
On top of these, there were personal top achievements by Banyana Banyana coach and striker Thembi Kgatlana who both were voted as the best in their respective categories in CAF awards while both Banyana Banyana and Amajita continued their domination in the COSAFA Region.
Dr Jordaan said the second phase of Vision 2022 will test all of our national teams and working closely with the PSL would ensure great success for the country.
The SAFA annual AGM was opened by Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa who encouraged all stakeholders to work together for the benefit of the country.
Minister Mthethwa said if Bafana Bafana are given maximum support, there was no reason why they can’t achieve the same success as the one achieved by the Springboks who won the World Cup in Japan this year.
He said SAFA was a major role player on the continent and should continue to set the pace to maintain the leadership position.