11 December 2023 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) has noted a misleading and false report peddled by a Sunday newspaper claiming that former CEO Tebogo Motlanthe is returning to the Association next month.
This report is a complete fabrication, malicious and devoid of any truth, and SAFA wishes to dismiss it with the contempt it deserves.
“There was never a conversation with Tebogo to come back to SAFA as CEO and this report boggles the mind,” said SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan.
“We had a successful SAFA NEC meeting on Saturday (9 December 2023) and at no point did this come up. It is the SAFA NEC that appoints CEOs and there was never such a conversation during the meeting. Lydia Monyepao is the SAFA CEO and we are not in the market for a new CEO.
“This is gossip and we wish to make it clear that there is no truth in the report. There is no vacancy for a CEO at SAFA because we have a CEO.”
SAFA CEO Monyepao: “These are just rumours! I have got a good working relationship with Dr Jordaan and the NEC. In fact, I will be travelling with the SAFA President to Saudi Arabia to attend the FIFA Club World Cup and the World Football Summit in Jeddah on 21 and 22 December as invited by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Our focus right now is on our football being more globally competitive.”
SAFA had a full meeting of the NEC on Saturday and there was no discussion about elections or the CEO’s position. We want to make it clear that we will not be distracted by talk of elections and we are focused on the development of women’s football, Bafana Bafana’s preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire in January, and Banyana Banyana’s pursuit of qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The SAFA President and the NEC fully support CEO Monyepao and will not be deterred by attempts to destabilise her and the Association.