Sandile Zungu will need the backing of at least 28 of the 52 SAFA regions if he is to pull off a major upset and unseat long-serving South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan at Saturday’s elective congress in Midrand, Johannesburg.
The AmaZulu FC president goes head-to-head with Jordaan on September 12 in what has developed into one of the most closely watched leadership contests in South African football in years.
Jordaan, who has led SAFA since 2013, is seeking a fourth term, while Zungu has positioned himself as the candidate of change, promising to introduce new ideas and rebuild a football system he believes has lost its way, particularly at grassroots level.
The election will be decided by the regions, with a candidate needing a minimum of 28 votes to secure the presidency.
Zungu has repeatedly insisted that his campaign has done enough work to reach that magic number.
“The campaign to elevate me to president of SAFA commenced well before I was roped in to become the face of it,” Zungu said, explaining that his campaign was driven by a group of regional leaders and members of SAFA’s national executive.
He added that, when the campaign started, the group had identified significant support among the regions, although it initially appeared to be in the minority.
But, according to Zungu, that situation has changed dramatically.
“We have done a lot of work above ground, and we have done a lot of work underground,” he said, insisting that his camp now has the upper hand.
The final days before the election have been overshadowed by allegations of interference in the regional structures.
Zungu has accused people aligned to the incumbent camp of attempting to destabilise regions believed to be supporting his candidacy.
At a media briefing in Sandton earlier this week, he claimed that some regions pushing for change had faced disciplinary action and that some football legends and officials had been prevented from participating in the electoral process.
“We are obviously putting up a very brave face. We are seething with anger in terms of what is being done to regions,” Zungu said.
“Our legends here have been disqualified from participating in the forthcoming elections and we believe unjustly so.”
He alleged that some regions had attempted to change their leadership but, after those efforts failed, were subsequently being punished by being prevented from participating in the elections.
“As I am talking, there are consultations with legal people to see how to take that matter forward and trust me, we take it very, very seriously,” he said.
Zungu has also alleged that money is being used in attempts to influence regional delegates.
“We are aware that promises of money are happening thick and fast,” he said, while maintaining that such alleged tactics would not derail his campaign.
The allegations have not been independently established, and Zungu did not publicly provide detailed evidence for all the claims.
The AmaZulu boss has nevertheless become increasingly outspoken as election day approaches.
In one of his strongest statements, Zungu declared:
“The monkey tricks will not take anybody anywhere. The era of monkey tricks is over.”
He also claimed there was an attempt to commit electoral fraud and destabilise regions aligned to his campaign.
“We will win these elections,” he said.
Zungu has indicated that his legal representatives are examining some of the issues surrounding the eligibility of regions and delegates, raising the possibility of legal action if people he believes should participate are excluded from the congress.
In his latest comments ahead of the vote, Zungu claimed that some of the regional leaders supporting him have deliberately kept their allegiance secret because they fear reprisals.
He said some supporters had been forced to appear as though they were backing Jordaan while privately committing themselves to his campaign.
“Some of them say, ‘But my name has been put on the list for the NEC; I don’t want them to start mobilising against me. I want you, Mr Zungu, but I also want to be on NEC, so the best is to pretend, sing, my president like everyone else but vote for the future,” Zungu said.
Zungu said his campaign had to respect those supporters’ difficult position.
“We’ve got to be accommodative of that. We’ve got reasonable levels of commitment that we can trust these people who will do the right thing and that’s how we go forward,” he said.
The comments highlight the difficulty of predicting the result from public endorsements alone because SAFA’s presidential election is decided by a secret ballot.
At the heart of Zungu’s campaign is his argument that South African football needs a fundamental change in direction.
He has placed governance, accountability, grassroots development, schools football and women’s football at the centre of his campaign.
Speaking about his vision, Zungu said:
“For me it’s important to sell a vision for the future of SAFA because that’s where the biggest challenge is … We have stopped dreaming and we have been sucked into the present fighting over things that don’t build us.”
He believes the country’s football development must begin at the bottom, particularly through schools.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the future of South African football lies in reviving school football, it lies in understanding the full potential of women in football and supporting their endeavours. It also lies in us fixing governance and becoming a lot more accountable,” he said.
His campaign has also criticised what it sees as the neglect of lower-level football and has called for greater investment in the structures feeding players into professional football. Campaign supporters have argued that SAFA needs to professionalise and strengthen its lower leagues.
Zungu has received support from sections of South African football’s former players and legends.
The South African Masters and Legends Football Association (SAMFLA) has endorsed his candidacy.
SAMFLA president Jacob “Buddha” Mathathe said:
“We believe that with Sandile Zungu as Safa president, our football will grow from strength to strength.”
Former players including Patson “Sparks” Banda and Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns legend Jan “Malombo” Lechaba have also voiced support for Zungu, with Lechaba arguing that football legends need a greater role in the administration of the game.
Zungu has also received significant political and traditional support in KwaZulu-Natal, where AmaZulu is based.
AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has backed Zungu’s campaign, with a royal representative saying the king had called for maximum support for him in KwaZulu-Natal.
The province has 11 SAFA regions, making it one of the biggest potential voting blocs in the election.
Despite Zungu’s confidence, Jordaan’s camp is not conceding the election.
Reports indicate that the incumbent retains substantial support among established SAFA structures.
The Jordaan-aligned Football Transformation Forum has reportedly secured strong backing in several regions, including parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. One report said six of the Eastern Cape’s eight regions had backed Jordaan.
That makes the final outcome difficult to predict.
Zungu says his supporters are sometimes deliberately keeping their allegiance private, while Jordaan’s supporters point to the incumbent’s established regional structures.
The secret ballot means that neither camp can be certain of victory until the votes are counted.
The election therefore goes beyond the personalities of Jordaan and Zungu.
It represents a choice between continuity and change.
For Jordaan, victory would give him another four years at the helm after 13 years in charge.
For Zungu, 28 regional votes would bring an end to the Jordaan era and give him the mandate to implement his promised reforms.
The congress is expected to attract significant attention, with representatives of FIFA, CAF, COSAFA, SASCOC and government structures invited to observe the proceedings.
For South African football, Saturday’s ballot could therefore prove to be a defining moment.
Twenty-eight votes will determine whether SAFA remains under Jordaan’s experienced hand or begins a new chapter under Zungu.
