9 October 2023 – The SAFA NEC held a scheduled meeting on 8 October 2023 at SAFA House where they dealt with various items and took a number of resolutions.
The NEC received a detailed report from the delegation that went to Saigon Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as part of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.
Asia is a very important continent in the sense that it does not have a candidate for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup bid and will be the one where 48 votes are up for grabs.
The SAFA NEC also congratulated CAF member Morocco who has been awarded the 2030 FIFA World Cup together with Portugal and Spain. The first round matches of the 2030 World Cup will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The South American country (Uruguay) hosted the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 and as part of the centenary celebrations, will be hosting opening games in 2030.
In this regard, the NEC congratulated all of the countries that will host 2030 World Cup.
On the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the SAFA NEC received and endorsed the 2034 Saudi Arabia bid. The Middle East Gulf state has shown in recent time their determination to be a huge role player in global football and the NEC noted the huge investment the country has made in the establishment of the Saudi Arabian league that has attracted some of the big names in the world.
SAFA therefore acknowledged both the investment and progress made by Saudi Arabia and agreed to support their campaign to host 2034 FIFA World Cup.
The NEC also noted the achievements of various national teams. It accepted the report on 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia as well as continued huge strides made by women football in South Africa. Banyana Banyana reached the last 16 in a historic achievement that has also galvanised women football across the country.
SAFA acknowledged the appointment of Romaney Pinnock as the Head of Women Football and accepted the submission of the ambitious document on the future of women’s football.
The qualification of Bafana Bafana to AFCON in Ivory Coast next year was also tabled and a SAFA delegation will travel to the Ivorian capital of Abidjan to participate in the draw that will take place on 12 October.
The NEC also acknowledged the upcoming Olympic qualifiers for 2024 Paris Olympics for Banyana Banyana against DR Congo and the u20 World Cup against Burundi.
On the domestic front, SAFA is looking forward to the SASOL play offs in Bloemfontein and the Hollywood Bets Regional play offs competition that has commenced.