Preparations for the South African Football Association (SAFA) Elective Congress have entered a crucial phase after the independent Governance Committee handed over the final list of candidates nominated for various positions.
The elective congress is scheduled to take place on 12 September 2026, with the Governance Committee tasked with scrutinising the nominations and determining whether candidates meet the requirements set out in the SAFA statutes.
The committee returned to SAFA House on Friday to formally hand over its final outcome to SAFA chief executive officer Lydia Monyepao.
Governance Committee chairperson Dr Victor Mogajane, deputy chairperson Tumi Dlamini, and members Anzel Laubscher and Abel Ramolotja were present at the handover. The fifth committee member, Shakespeare Hadebe, could not attend because of a bereavement in his family.
Mogajane said the committee had subjected the nominations to a rigorous process of eligibility testing and vetting before arriving at its final list.
“We are going to give you feedback, and the feedback has been as a result of these members (the Governance Committee), that upon receiving the files, we met and discussed the details, and we went through a rigorous process, eligibility testing and vetting in terms of the SAFA statutes,” Mogajane said.
He subsequently outlined the outcome of the vetting process across the different categories.
In the presidential category, two candidates were nominated and both were found to be eligible to contest the SAFA presidency.
The national list attracted 30 nominations. However, five candidates were found to be ineligible, leaving 25 candidates who passed the vetting process.
For the provincial list, the committee vetted 27 nominations, with five candidates failing to meet the required criteria. A total of 22 candidates were therefore declared eligible.
The final category involved associate members, described as members of the public. SAFA received nine nominations in this category, but only four were found to be eligible, while five were declared ineligible.
SAFA is expected to contact all the candidates on Saturday to formally inform them whether they have been cleared to contest the elections.
The vetting process is likely to be closely watched as the association moves towards an important leadership election that will determine the future direction of South African football.
SAFA has also invited a wide range of football and government stakeholders to attend the Elective Congress. Among those expected to be invited are representatives from FIFA, CAF, COSAFA and SASCOC, as well as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture and football legends.
With the final candidate list now established, attention will turn to the election campaign and the battle for positions within the country’s football governing body ahead of the September congress.
