BFA turns to Mfolo
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday March 5, 2022 06:00
Mfolo returned to his previous position on Tuesday this week and is tasked with re-engineering the association’s business process. He left the BFA under a cloud in December 2020 after the Under-17 side was sent home from the COSAFA Cup for age-cheating. The official became the fall guy after the scandal. Before his departure, Mfolo had survived the harsh BFA environment where successive CEOs have wilted under pressure. Mfolo joined the association in 2017, on secondment from the Ministry of Basic Education. He was praised for adopting a professional ethic in a workplace where there is constant talk of political interference.
BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti had seen enough in Mfolo to warrant a second bite at the cherry. Despite the sour parting, Letshwiti is reportedly convinced Mfolo has the professional attributes to steer the BFA ship in a reassuring direction. The association has been in the public eye following damaging reports that P6 million of FIFA funds had been diverted to unintended purposes. The funds were meant for women’s football and COVID-19 relief. The BFA was left a further P2.8 million in the red after reports of unauthorised expenditure.
The crisis claimed the scalp of BFA CEO, Goabaone Taylor, who was dismissed recently after a hearing. BFA first vice president, Marshlow Motlogelwa also resigned. FIFA officials were recently in the country after Letshwiti alerted the world governing body of the financial anomalies. “The manner in which we parted did not make him a bad administrator overnight. He is one of the most qualified people we have.
We need to utilise his expertise.
He has vast experience in sports administration,” Letshwiti told Mmegi Sport. “The aim is to get someone who will clean the association and we believe Mfolo, a very passionate person about football, is the right candidate to deliver just that.” In a media statement on Wednesday, the BFA said it hoped Mfolo would return BFA operations and finances to normalcy and restore stakeholder confidence. “Mr Mfolo is a FIFA and UEFA trained football expert who continued to contribute meaningfully to the development of football in his private space even after his departure from the BFA in December 2020.
Mr Mfolo has previously led the BFA with a high level of integrity and professionalism,” reads part of the statement. Mfolo’s other immediate task, other than the finances, would be to complete the association’s restructuring exercise.