Merryman Kunene soccer
The highest recognition any professional can get comes from fellow professionals, who understand better what it takes to get to the top.
It is for this reason that Nastasia Tsichlas, the MD of Sundowns, beams with pride when she looks at her success in football, which culminated in her appointment to one of the Federation of International Football Association’s (Fifa) top committees.
“I was really surprised by the appointment,” she says. “Fifa president Sepp Blatter was always complimentary to me, but I did not realise I was going to end up on one of Fifa’s committees.”
While Tsichlas is not yet certain about her role in this committee, she knows it will be an important one and regards it as well-deserved recognition for her hard work. The committee is headed by Villar Llona Angel Maria (president of the Spanish Football Association) and consists of other football luminaries such as Franz Beckenbauer (Germany), Bobby Charlton (England), Pele (Brazil) and Michel Platini (France).
“We will have our first meeting on February 16 in Zurich and then we will be fully briefed about our roles,” says Tsichlas.
Blatter’s appointment of Tsichlas may come as a surprise to many but the Fifa boss is very keen to surround himself with people who will support his views. He knows Africa is very important to his strategy. He also knows that some federations, particularly the European body, Uefa, would still prefer to have Uefa boss Lennaert Johansson at the helm.
Whatever his motives, for Tsichlas it will be a big opportunity for her to make her mark in world football.
Blatter is due to visit South Africa next week, and Tsichlas will use this opportunity to cement her ties with soccer’s most powerful body. The timing of the visit is almost perfect for her. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has charged her with misconduct after she openly criticised the way it handles fixtures, although this week’s hearing was postponed.
The PSL and the South African Football Association (Safa) will be keen to present a united front to Blatter as they seek to convince him that Africa in general, and South Africa in particular, is a viable option to host the 2010 World Cup. Blatter has been known to be a great supporter of an African bid and an early start could enhance Africa’s prospects.
Although the disciplinary hearings have been indefinitely put off, Tsichlas is still unhappy about the change of fixtures which “gifted” Sundowns two “killer matches” against Pirates and Chiefs in a space of three days without notification.
“It seems there are individuals inside the PSL who do not like Sundowns,” she said. Dislike is an understatement. Sundowns were also on the receiving end of some rough treatment earlier this season when Safa and the PSL insisted the team honour matches after they had three players selected to the national side. The rules are clear on that one matches are automatically postponed.
Sundowns were already facing a fixture backlog due to their participation in continental club competitions and the sensible thing would have been to excuse the players from national duties. Another thought she has grappled with is that some men could be seriously intimidated by the idea of dealing with a woman boss.
It has not been an easy road to the top for her and she is well aware of the fact that the Fifa post might disrupt her work at Sundowns. Her biggest ambition is to win the African Champions League. Sundowns came agonisingly close to reaching the finals this year.
She cringes with disappointment at the missed opportunities caused mainly by a couple of blunders the team could have avoided. The loss of coach Paul Dolezer at the beginning of the season seemed to have a disastrous effect on the players. His replacement, Clemens Westerhof, was clearly out of his depth.
If some men are intimidated by the “Iron Lady” as she is popularly known many will be pleased to know she has no desire to pursue a higher position at Safa. “That would not be possible. I am very happy to be part of the executive in my present capacity. My first priority is the team and I must be careful not to overload myself.”
The one man who really matters most isn’t worried, though. Her husband, Angelo, a co-chair of the club, is very supportive of her role in football. “The day we received the news of my appointment, Angelo was very happy and brought some champagne for celebrations,” she said. “Any woman with a husband like that would be very lucky.” (Not to mention successful.)