Danny Jordaan is a burden that Safa shouldn’t have to carry

It’s been a full year since South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan was arrested on charges of fraud. He was taken into custody on13 November 2024, alongside Safa chief of finance Gronie Hluyo and journalist-turned-businessperson Trevor Neethling. They are all out on bail.

It is alleged that Jordaan hired Neethling and his company, Grit Communications, to polish his public image after a rape accusation in 2017. This was also ahead of the 2018 Safa elections. The recent accusation is that Jordaan illegally used Safa funds for his own benefit, flouting its protocols.

Of course, Jordaan has vehemently denied these claims and maintained his innocence. He has insisted that his biggest critics are former members of Safa who are bitter about being removed from their positions and now want to topple him from the outside.

This is something he repeated when Safa appeared before Parliament in June, saying there is a smear campaign directed at the soccer federation and he is the scapegoat. “The campaign [against me] is intended to drive away the sponsors,” Jordaan said. “It only happens to football. It won’t happen to rugby and cricket.

“This is a political and vicious campaign, but we will stand our ground. We will deliver the football that people want in this country. We are not afraid; we’ve seen worse.”

Jordaan, a former Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality mayor, is serving his third term as Safa boss, having been first elected in 2013. Before that he served in the association in various capacities – a streak dating back to 1997 when he was appointed as chief executive. By his own words, he also played a pivotal role in bringing the 2010 Fifa World Cup to Africa.

So, it could be that the “campaign” against him is merely people telling him that he has done enough for South African soccer and should pass the baton on to fresh blood. However, Jordaan himself has always highlighted that he remains Safa president because members of its national executive committee have elected not to remove him.

Democracy fallacy

At its core, Safa is there to serve South African soccer and the public who loves it – not its national executive committee. But Jordaan is not perturbed by a number of critics saying he has overstayed his welcome as president. In fact, he has hinted at contesting for a fourth term when the next Safa elections come around in 2026.

“In any position, in a democracy, you cannot give yourself a position. You cannot decide when you stay and when you go. That is the responsibility of our 52 regions – they will take that decision.

“It’s not for me to say I want to be a president [or not]. I never said that to them. So, they will decide what they want to do,” Jordaan said.

This is in stark contrast to what he said in 2022 after his re-election in a landslide victory. Then he implied that he had not wanted to run for president again and only did so to groom a successor because Safa national executive committee members had implored him to stay and help.

“That’s one of the reasons why [some of the] members said, ‘You can’t just drop the ball and go, you must have a succession plan.’ I heard them and we agreed. It is not as if I woke up one morning and said I want a third term. That is far from the truth. I had accepted that I’d made my contribution,” Jordaan said at the time.

Asked about those remarks during his June parliamentary appearance, Jordaan appeared perplexed. He said: “When did I say this? ... Members must nominate. We have to wait and see. I don’t know whether they’ll nominate me or not.”

A good dancer knows…

With a large number of Jordaan’s fellow committee members allegedly personally benefiting one way or another from his extended stay at Safa, he is likely to at least be nominated again, even though his presence is clearly a setback – in a number of ways – for the association.

The only way for him not to be considered is if he voluntarily excludes himself, something he should have done when he was arrested. If Jordaan had stepped aside to clear his name in a legal matter that will evidently drag on for some time, he would have protected Safa’s image.

As it stands, while he ferociously fights to clear his name, the name of the organisation which he claims to love so dearly takes a beating with every appearance he makes in court, even if he is innocent until proven guilty.

A case in point is Safa’s much-publicised financial woes and how this is affecting players. Just recently, Amajita – South Africa’s U-20 men’s side – reached the Fifa U-20 World Cup round of 16. They did this without adequate preparation, including missing pre-tournament friendlies, which their rivals had a chance to play.

If the Amajita had been given the means to be properly prepared, how much further could they have gone in the tournament?

Financial impact

Safa’s hierarchy will say the funding crisis is due to sponsors shunning soccer and running to rugby and cricket – sports that were the pride of the apartheid government.

But it’s not viable for corporates to associate their brands with a federation whose president and chief of finance are in and out of court on allegations of fraud. Hence, in recent times, Safa has had to depend on the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture for financial assistance.

In December 2024, Minister Gayton McKenzie approved a R5-million advance on Safa’s annual government grant, saying the organisation was in a desperate situation and its employees risked a bleak festive season if not for his intervention.

McKenzie recently announced that his department has given Safa another R5-million. This is to help Bafana Bafana prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations in December, as well as the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Asked why he was so comfortable with pumping money into an organisation whose president and chief of finance are in court for fraud, McKenzie simply answered: “Our Constitution says you are innocent until proven guilty. That’s what our Constitution says. That’s not McKenzie.”

The minister cited Jordaan recently being appointed to world soccer governing body Fifa’s men’s national teams competitions committee – a key committee in the federation’s structures because it oversees all its men’s tournaments.

“Fifa also looks at [its] constitution. They don’t look at my feelings or your feelings. Not only have they kept Danny Jordaan, but they promoted him to another committee of Fifa. That must tell you what Fifa thinks of Danny Jordaan. What I think or what you think is irrelevant,” McKenzie said. “I know [Safa] is a national asset and many of us complain. But I’m just giving you the raw facts.”

It is also a fact that if Jordaan had any integrity, he would have stepped away from being the main character at Safa many years ago, especially after his arrest. He has nothing left to prove and should allow others to take to the stage. His continued presence under the spotlight hurts both Safa and South African soccer. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.