28 October 2022 The erroneous report about the ABC Motsepe League by Amabhungane is unfortunate and regrettable.

For starters, the initial investigation was instituted by the South African Football Association (SAFA) and therefore the basis of this whole article seems to be politically driven. The placing of the picture of CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe and SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan to headline the story is deliberate and again politically orchestrated and the motive is only known to the author of the article as the two (Dr Motsepe and Dr Jordaan) have nothing to do with the above mentioned matter which is before the court.

It must be placed on record that upon receiving the report on the investigation, the matter was handed over to the law enforcement agency by the Association.

SAFA does not handle court processes and therefore is not in a position to explain the delay in finalising the matter.

SAFA has always made its zero tolerance to match manipulation and match fixing clear and has further strengthened its drive for good governance, transparency and accountability by appointing an independent Integrity Officer to investigate any matter related to match fixing or match manipulation.

The Association has further appointed an independent Ethics Committee that has authority to investigate and prosecute any wrong doing.

The SAFA Ethics Committee is chaired by renowned former senior Constitutional Court Judge Sisi Khampepe and has senior Appeals Judge Ronnie Pillay and Western Cape Advocate Candylee de Sousa on the panel.

SAFA further established a Governance Committee to ensure proper football governance and compliance of all its operations.

The contents of the article dates back to 2016/17 and have been thoroughly dealt with at that time hence the matter is before the court. Association has no authority over what happens next. This is an old matter which Amabhungane presents erroneously as a new.

This exposes the political intent of those behind the article especially coming in the aftermaths of the Elective Congress that left a bitter taste in the mouth of those who lost. The article is unfortunate as it is presented under the guise of investigative journalism when we all know the truth behind this.

The ABC Motsepe League has transformed the Premier Soccer League (PSL) from being a mainly Gauteng based league to a truly national league. Teams in the PSL include a good number of those promoted through the ABC Motsepe league and these include Richards Bay, Chippa United, Moroka Swallows among others. Teams promoted into the National First Division (NFD) from the ABC Motsepe are Hungry Lions, Uthongathi, JDR Stars, Magesi, Platinum City Rovers, Pretoria Callies. These promoted teams both in the PSL and NFD are holding their own.

SAFA therefore want to express its sincere gratitude to the Motsepe Foundation for creating a great platform for professionalism within the football structures as well as a platform for job creation and hope for young South Africans.

Some of the players that have come through these structures are now playing football overseas and form the cornerstone of our various national teams.

In the meantime, SAFA will convene a meeting with the Motsepe Foundation to clarify the unfortunate but deliberate attempt to harm the good relationships that exist between the two entities. Otherwise, other matters raised by the article are before the court of law and the Association cannot comment any further.