Stuart Hess
FOUR people have emerged as frontrunners for South Africa’s top soccer job following the resignation of soccer supremo Solomon “Stix” Morewa.
Prominent members of the South African soccer fraternity this week named former South African National Football Association (Sanfa) chief George Thabe, former South African Soccer Association (Sasa) vice- president Thembi Mtokwane, the Premier Soccer League’s chief executive officer Trevor Phillips and South African Football Association (Safa) vice-president Molefi Olifant as desirable candidates for the post.
The four would not comment this week on their possible candidature. Speculation on who would lead South African football has been rife since the Pickard report said Morewa was both greedy and untrustworthy and wanted to use soccer to enrich himself.
Soccer officials said the association should be run by someone with the necessary qualifications and experience of local football to enable the sport to overcome the trouble which has muddied it recently.
Football experts contacted by the Mail & Guardian differed in their opinions of what the role of the new president should be. Some suggested that perhaps two people should preside over the association.
The Pickard report said Safa’s new president should not receive any special “perks” from the job. “He must be willing to do the job for the mere love of the game and be so financially independent that he cannot be coerced into any decision by offers of benefits to himself.”
It also recommended a full-time executive be appointed to run the daily affairs of the association. This position, according to Pickard, “should be of no significance in order to avoid him aspiring to popularity in the public eye”.
Safa’s executive committee emphasised that the new president must be South African and not a foreigner. Executive member and treasurer, Vincent Baartjies, said that the idea of a figurehead president was unnecessary as he would act only “as a puppet”. “The person must know the finer details of local football,” urged Baartjies.
He said the new administrative head should have an understanding of all football- related matters “from what happens at the tiny amateur club in Garankuwa to the big clubs in the Premier Soccer League”.
Baartjies said the person must have grown with the organisation and must have been “on the outside” of problems experienced in soccer administration the past six months.
Baartjies said none of the candidates mentioned by the media would make a worthy candidate for the top post at Safa because they lacked the hands-on experience.
He stressed that the new president must be appointed from within the South African soccer community. “I think it is important that we make this point clear that the person must come from within South African soccer circles. Kevin Keegan can’t come here and run our soccer because he knows nothing about South African football.”
Safa’s Olifant told M&G the new boss should be a young person with a sound financial background and said he believed he had the right credentials to replace Morewa. He claimed to have support from prominent football officials. He said there must be a move away from the executive president to an honourary president not employed by Safa.
The organisation’s second vice-president, Danny Jordaan, said the reason for past problems was that “too much power was in the hands of one person”.
“We need to reconstruct football, thereby providing a democratic structure, which will provide for correct football administration,” said Jordaan.
He said it would be foolish to hire somebody from overseas because the person may not have sufficient local knowledge.
Obakeng Molatedi, also an executive member of the association, said a well-educated, career-oriented person from within soccer circles should be appointed as football’s new head.
Said another executive member, Reuben Mahlalela: “The person must establish strong relations with Fifa (Federation Internationale des Football Associations) who are presently very concerned about our administration because of the (Pickard) commission.”
Richard Maguire, editor of local football magazine Kickoff, believed the new administrative head of soccer should be honest and have charisma. “He should be a dignified guy with a good track record.”
Maguire believed two people should be employed to oversee the administration of local soccer. “One should perform a figurehead role while the other could be involved in a more administrative capacity.”
Maguire said Trevor Phillips, the chief executive officer of the Premier Soccer League, had the necessary experience and qualifications for the administrative position.