7 February 2025 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) has noted the turn of events at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in the East of Johannesburg on Friday.
SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan, the Association’s Chief Financial Officer Gronie Hluyo and Grit Communications Director, Trevor Neethling, appeared briefly before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, 7 February 2025. However, the matter barely lasted a few minutes and was postponed to 15 August 2025 as three charges on the charge sheet were withdrawn by the State.
At the center of the withdrawal are charges that relate to several payments amounting to R888 339,05 that were alleged to have been paid to the SAFA President. As it turns out, the amounts were paid to a President Hotel and not to the SAFA President. This is the reason why the charges were withdrawn, as clearly, the charges were erroneous on the part of the State.
The postponement is very long, however, the Association will continue to observe the process. This will also give us an opportunity to fully concentrate on the core business of football.
Our U15 Girls and U15 Boys are preparing for the CAF African Schools Championships as COSAFA champions. The U17 Boys are preparing for the CAF Youth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco while the U17 Girls are gearing up for FIFA World Cup Qualifier preparations.
The U20 Girls have their eye on the next round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, while the U20 Boys have their sights on the CAF U20 Men’s AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Banyana Banyana are continuing their preparations for the defense of their CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in July and have matches against Lesotho this month. Finally, Bafana Bafana are preparing for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin next month.
SAFA also congratulates five officials who have been selected to attend the regional referee instructors seminar organised by FIFA in Ethiopia/Adis-Ababa from 17 to 21 March 2025. They are: Lufuno Nemagovhani, Abdul Ebrahim, Carlos Henriques, Jerome Damon and Victor Gomes.
SAFA will also continue to support the South African football clubs that are flying the country’s flag high on the international stage. Orlando Pirates FC and Mamelodi Sundowns FC are in the quarterfinal stage of the CAF Champions League, while Stellenbosch FC are through to the knockout stage of the CAF Confederations Cup.
Mamelodi Sundowns are also playing in the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA in June 2025, all of which augurs well for South African football and our national teams.
SAFA will not lose focus on the core business of football and delivering unprecedented success for South African football.
