An open letter to SAFA president

Dennis Keagile | Friday June 26, 2015 17:17

I was humbled by your humility and down-to- earth personality. I could not pick up any pomp in you, but instead saw someone who is smart and thorough in his job.  It is now on record that you did an exceptional good job as chief executive officer of both the local organising committee, as well as the South African Football Association, positions, which you held interchangeably.

It is therefore not surprising that you are now president of the South African Football Association (SAFA). I guess you have learnt a lot of tricks from FIFA president, Joseph Sepp Blatter.

Jordan, I admire you and know that you are a good listener and a gentleman.

Whoever thought that you could beat Dr Irvin  ‘Iron Duke’ Khoza to a game of maneuvering? It’s impressive how you beat him hands down to be SAFA president. Recently, when there was a furore over the way you won the right to host the 2010 soccer World Cup, courtesy of the controversial investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America, you kept quiet.

The media tried all the tricks in the book to source a comment from you, but you remained mum, while your former president, Molefi Oliphant, felt the heat under the collar.

It was as if you are not in South Africa or you were never part of the local organising committee.  Everybody who tried to throw mud at you, you just dusted it off and remained unmoved.

In your favour, you had your Minister of Sports and Recreation, Fikile ‘Chatterbox’ Mbalula who, I must admit put up a very good defence, for both SAFA and the South African government.

However, this letter has got nothing to do with the World Cup or CAF, which you could be the next president of, but about COSAFA.

Mr Jordan, you might be wondering what is it that you have to do with COSAFA. It is always said that whenever South Africa sneezes, the rest of southern Africa catches a cold.  South Africa is the big brother of Southern Africa.

My concern is that for all its resources, gold, world-class infrastructure, South African football (from a technical point that is) is not at the level commensurate with its infrastructure. 

Like Brazil, which is the economic hub of South America I had expected South African football to be leading when it comes to grass roots soccer development.

But lo and behold, I think Zimbabwe and Zambia are ahead. Brazil has the highest population in South America just like South Africa has the highest population in Southern Africa but still football wise, there is nothing much to bench mark with from a technical point. I believe you would agree with me that South Africa is holding back the development of Southern African football development.

If you were to be the Brazil of southern Africa, all the countries in this region will easily bench mark with you and even get more motivated. I am of the opinion that this is the case with South America.

Brazil and Argentina are the leading countries but you also have little countries like Uruguay, which despite small in stature, pack a lot of punch simple because Brazil is the team to beat and bench mark with. If South Africa were to have a sound grass root development policy, I bet my last drop of blood, the rest of Southern Africa will improve.

There is nothing much to learn from South Africa, at the moment, yet your association and country comparatively speaking boasts plenty of resources.

If you can have players earning as high as R400, 000 per month, which no other league in Southern Africa (COSAFA) pays it means it is easier to embark on proper football development. I therefore appeal to you Danny to put South Africa on its rightful match and the rest like they usual say will be history.

The rest of COSAFA believe you me will be galvanized. Just have a look at the countries in North and West Africa, they have all benefited from their big brothers; North Africa from Egypt and West Africa from Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. We need that catalyst in COSAFA and that catalyst is South Africa. So please let South Africa be the Argentina and Brazil of COSAFA.

The more intense the development of the game in your own country the better it will be for the region. Tell you what, there is no way South African football can reach world-class stage if its neighbours are still crawling. We have a saying in our Setswana, which says matlo go sha a mabapi.

This means once your neighbour’s house catches fire, there is no way yours cannot be affected one way or the other. This is true also of sport development. So perhaps you ought to take and treat COSAFA seriously. It is holding the key to your success. I had expected to see a mushrooming of coaches from your country some of whom we could engage but unfortunately, it is not the case, yet you have millions of money.

With the likes of Kalusha Bwalya being the president of the Football Association of Zambia, I am sure that if you were to exchange notes we could go somewhere.  So please take your rightful place in championing grassroots development in this region. I count on your visionary leadership to change the face of Southern Africa.

I am sick and tired of what is happening now, where we are easily beaten by our counterparts from North and West Africa simply because as a collective, we are know where to be seen. Please, let South Africa take the lead and the rest will follow, and remember this kindergarten song, ‘Follow, follow-follow, follow the leader…’

I thank you,