James Moloi is ready to hit the ground running after retaining his position as president of Athletics South Africa (ASA) at the national federation’s quadrennial general meeting in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday.
Moloi received the majority of votes from ASA members and will now lead the association for a second four-year term. Among his challengers was former president Aleck Skhosana.
“I’m thankful for the support shown by the council, which shows that we’ve done well over the last four years, and now I’m going to do my level best to uplift the sport even further and bring more events to South Africa,” Moloi said afterwards.
He immediately outlined several key focus areas for himself and the new board, including stabilising the federation administratively and attracting more sponsors to the sport.
“In most cases, we went to different companies in 2022 and 2023, and most of them told us straight away that we needed to be stable and deliver results. But now, when we visit these companies, we can say: ‘Please join us — our athletes are doing very well,’” Moloi said.
“We will go out of our way to try to get new sponsors for track and field, road running, and everything else, so our athletes can receive incentives going forward. We are also going to unite the board. The board is going to be solid because these guys have a lot of experience.”
Moloi also stressed the urgency of appointing a permanent CEO. Terrence Magogodela has served in an acting capacity for the past four years.
“That’s the number one point on my agenda, immediately after we’ve met with the board. Because when I go to Parliament, that’s the first thing they’re going to ask. I’m going to move as fast as I can to appoint a new CEO so we can stabilise this organisation. We can’t wait.”
John Mathane, the newly elected president of Athletics Gauteng North (AGN), was chosen as the federation’s vice-president, while long-distance runner Kesa Molotsane was named chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission.
Jakes Jacobs returned as chairperson of Cross Country, while Enoch Skosana retained his post as chairperson for Road Running, and Jean Verster remained chairperson of the Track and Field Commission.
The four additional members elected to the board are Esther Malema (retained), Johanita Bester, Mike Masepe, and Adelina Seipati Ranthimo (retained).
Barry Hendricks, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), praised the smooth voting process and extended his best wishes to the new ASA board.
“Your role is to look at your vision for the next four years — what targets you’re going to set, what challenges you’ll overcome, and what weaknesses you can eliminate — because that’s what will determine whether or not you’ll be successful at the end of 2028,” Hendricks said.
“We need a unified approach from all the provinces, so put your firm belief as a federation behind this board. It is their time to elevate the organisation to another, more professional level.”
