28 May 2020 – SAFA Acting CEO, Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe has given his month’s report in office.
Adv Motlanthe has had his hands full since he took over the demanding job, from making several outstanding payments, helping the Association sign historic agreements with key Football Federations to reworking a new football calendar for clubs from professional and amateur ranks to international football.
Since coming into office at the beginning of this month, Motlanthe has managed to pay all of SAFA’s 52 Regions and the ABC Motsepe clubs’ outstanding payments for the past seasons.
“I would like to thank the Motsepe Foundation for providing us with this crucial funding especially during these trying times when the whole environment is suffering from the devastating effects of Covid-19,” said Motlanthe.
“The payments to the Regions and ABC Motsepe clubs is very important considering it is lower clubs and regions that have been mostly affected by this pandemic.”
Motlanthe also revealed that SAFA had also paid Banyana Banyana’s outstanding bonuses, thanks to sponsors SASOL.
“I had to make sure that we attend to all these unsettled payments so that we mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and that we start on a clean slate,” he added.
One of the main issues to attend to now was preparing and building the base for the return of football for clubs and international football.
SAFA and the NSL will meet on Monday for the Joint Liaison Committee meeting to check the feasibility of resumption of football.
“We are going to discuss the practicality of when and how football should restart.”
Covid-19 has caused untold financial losses to all sporting codes and Motlanthe has been liaising with other sporting codes to see how the sporting family can mitigate the effects of the pandemic to the sport.
Among the sporting codes SAFA has been interacting with are the South African Rugby Union and Cricket South Africa.
In his month in office, Motlanthe has presided over the cooperation agreements between SAFA and 2018 FIFA World Cup hosts, Russia and 2022 hosts Qatar which entails a number of cooperation areas from technical, medical to a whole range of other areas.
Only last week, SAFA entered into an agreement with the English FA to work together on a host of areas including how football can resume again.
“It has really been a baptism of fire but I am relishing the challenge. I want South Africans to focus more on football matters rather than politics and that has been my primary priority,” concluded Motlanthe.