Johannesburg – Newly elected South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan says the development of South African football has to change radically.

Jordaan beat Mandla “Shoes” Mazibuko to the top spot and would replace outgoing president Kirsten Nematandani.

Jordaan garnered 162 votes to the 88 Mazibuko received from the 52 regions.

“It was a tremendous day for South African football,” Jordaan said after the results had been announced.

“I’m very happy I’ve been give the honour and have accepted gratefully.”

Jordaan served as SAFA CEO from 1997 to 2004 and was largely responsible for South Africa’s bids for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals.

Jordaan said the SAFA elective would work together under his leadership and avoid in-fighting between groups.

“This is a SAFA election, not an election of one group or another.

“All the executive members are elected, so all those people are not in football by chance. They have earned their place.

“The SAFA executive will serve South African football.”

Jordaan said he hoped to improve the coaching situation in South Africa, firstly by increasing their numbers and also improving their qualifications.

“We have almost 2 000 players per coach.

“Let’s look at education – you have 2 000 kids in the classroom and the teacher has the lowest qualification, then you expect the students to be the best. It doesn’t work like that.”

The development of South African football had to change radically, according to Jordaan.

“The challenge for all of us is the development and reconstruction of South African football.

“Many say we are a football nation but I say we are not.

“Germany is playing 80 000 junior matches over a weekend. Spain is playing 30 000. France is playing 40 000.

“If you find 3 000 matches in South Africa you’re doing well. So that’s the problem. We have to get the junior leagues going.”

SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANC in Gauteng have run ahead of themselves by revealing that former president Thabo Mbeki would be roped in to lure middle-class voters ahead of next year’s general elections, the ANC said on Sunday.

“The statement by Gauteng is just unfortunate. They have just ran ahead of themselves,” secretary general Gwede Mantashe said.

The Sunday Times reported that the party had asked Mbeki for help in capturing Gauteng’s middle class voters.

“We are pulling out all the stops and using all the resources of the ANC,” the party’s Gauteng provincial secretary David Makhura told the paper.

He said the African National Congress would hold house meetings and public dialogues headed by Mbeki, the country’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.

The paper reported that the strategy arose out of fears of President Jacob Zuma’s unpopularity with the middle class. Zuma would instead be used to woo the poor and working class voters in the province.

“The president is leading our direct contact with the people. He is not going to be in those house meetings [in the suburbs]. We are using him for big community meetings and door-to-door work,” he was quoted as saying.

Makhura told the paper that Cabinet ministers such Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba would be used to try and win over young voters.

Mantashe said deployment of leaders to provinces would be done centrally and they would send leaders anywhere despite the circumstances of the area.

“There is no constituency and profile of constituency that suits a particular individual. We will send a person whom we think will be able to deal with the audience that will be attended by that leader,” he said. 

SAPA