TUESDAY, 11.00AM:
THE SA Football Association is to hold an urgent meeting tomorrow with its Zairean counterpart to seek clarity on Zaire’s threat to pull out of the World Cup competition.
The Zairean Leopards have been forced to play all recent matches on neutral territory due to the Zairean civil war, which has sapped their finances. As a result, they say they cannot afford to continue their World Cup campaign. If Zaire pulls out, SA will lose six of their total seven points earned in the competition so far, and will force Bafana Bafana to win both their upcoming matches against Congo and Zambia to stay in the running.
Safa CEO Danny Jordaan said that although the organisation is not able to help Zaire financially, Safa will listen to Zaire’s case and”assist where we can”.
Jordaan added, however, that SA potential loss of six World Cup points is not the main reason to help Zaire: “Yes, this would be a very bad situation to find ourselves in,, but I believe we have the squad to win the remaining matches and take us to France.
“There’s always a cry in the international arena about Africa’s disregard for Fifa rules and our concern is that Zaire’s withdrawal from the qualifiers at this stage will dent the continent’s image internationally, and it is for this reason that we are prepared to listen to their case. We do understand they have problems and are incapable of generating finances within their own country.”