On Thursday, the South African Football Association’s (Safa) vice-president and chairperson of the national association’s tottering SA Football subsidiary, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, laid charges with the police against former SA Football CEO Sbu Mngadi over alleged forgery and misappropriation of funds.
The confirmation that Safa meant business and was not simply ”blowing hot air” regarding another of soccer’s embarrassing ”hot potato” issues was announced by a spokesperson of the controlling body of South African soccer.
The national association opened a can of worms on Tuesday by pointing a finger at Mngadi over arranging a game for Bafana Bafana against Colombia without authorisation, super-imposing the signatures of Nonkonyana and Safa CEO Raymond Hack without their knowledge, and disposing of a substantial portion of the R900 000 advance from the organisers of the proposed Colombia match.
Mngadi has denied the submissions of forgery and misappropriation of funds against him, while admitting to super-imposing the signatures of Nonkonyana and Hack in what he described as ”common business practice in such situations”.
The former SA Football CEO says the monies he distributed were for legitimate debts incurred by the company, and he claims he is a victim of a smear campaign — threatened with death and members of his family with rape.
Safa and SA Football, in the process, find themselves obligated to refund the R900 000 advance received for the aborted Colombia game — and growing concern over how soccer is being administered in the country before the 2010 World Cup. — Sapa