12 April 2024 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) held a very successful NEC Meeting at the Birchwood Hotel & Conference Centre near the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Friday 12 April 2024.
The members of the NEC discussed several matters robustly and in the spirit of the game, setting the tone for the 32nd SAFA Ordinary Congress to be held at the same venue on Saturday 13 April 2024.
One of the matters under discussion was the search and seizure conducted by the Hawks at the Association’s headquarters in Nasrec, in the south of Johannesburg, on Friday, 8 March 2024. SAFA is very unhappy with the Hawks’ illegal and unlawful search and seizure at SAFA House.
On that basis, SAFA has lodged a letter of complaint to the oversight judge of the Hawks regarding the manner in which the raid was conducted. SAFA has also taken the matter for review and to be set aside.
SAFA is also heartbroken after Banyana Banyana’s goalless draw with Nigeria at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria on Tuesday night saw the West Africans win the two-legged qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games 1-0 on aggregate. The Association did everything in its power to support the team, but in the end disappointment is part of football and margins are often very close.
Now we will focus on Bafana Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, and the South African U-17 men’s team’s two friendly matches against Colombia in Santiago de Cali as they continue with preparations for the upcoming COSAFA U-17 Championships and the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.