With a packed international calendar looming, the South African Football Association (SAFA) spent nearly 15 hours in a marathon National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting this past weekend to map out preparations for the country’s various national teams.
Banyana Banyana are set to compete at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in July, while the SA U17 and U20 men’s teams are preparing for their respective FIFA World Cups in Qatar and Chile later this year.
Bafana Bafana, meanwhile, have four crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers lined up between September and October.
SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan confirmed that the NEC meeting, held at SAFA House in Johannesburg on Friday, started at 2pm and only concluded at 5am on Saturday morning.
“We had several matters to deal with. You know, Banyana Banyana is going to Morocco. The U17s are going to Qatar in November, and the U20s are heading to Chile in September. Then we also have Bafana’s World Cup qualifiers,” said Jordaan.
[WATCH] Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie says he doesn’t have full confidence in the Danny Jordaan led SAFA.
He says he’s given Jordaan & SAFA a mandate to qualify for the upcoming #AFCONQ2025 and the FIFA World Cup.
“I don’t have confidence because confidence comes with results” pic.twitter.com/F7cWcMSMXl
— Ntsako Mkhari (@Ntsako_Mkhari_) September 9, 2024
The marathon session also addressed various administrative matters, but not all items on the agenda were concluded. The NEC has been adjourned to reconvene next week ahead of the upcoming SAFA Congress.
“We are going to appoint new auditors, and we have the Finance and Technical Committee reports to be presented. These are Committee reports that we’ve left for next week,” Jordaan added.
Among the matters deferred to the next sitting are updates from the Competitions and Membership Affairs Committees, as well as appointments to the Technical Committee—an area Jordaan stressed is key to ensuring national teams are adequately prepared.
“There are too many issues that we had to deal with. But, as you could see, all the people remained until the end of the meeting. We have to make sure everything is okay with our teams, and that’s where the focus is,” he said.
Jordaan, who will travel to the United States this weekend for engagements, also hopes to catch a few matches at the FIFA Club World Cup, where South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns are competing.
The portfolio committee on Sport, Arts and Culture has hauled Safa president Danny Jordaan over the coals for his leadership. DA MP Liam Jacobs grilled Jordaan over his leadership and travel expenses. The committee was briefed on bullying allegations and treatment of female staff… pic.twitter.com/I6eVh0IoTT
— eNCA (@eNCA) June 4, 2025
He confirmed the NEC sent their well wishes to the Pretoria-based outfit.
Despite the duration and depth of discussions, Jordaan said the Members remained united throughout and that no disciplinary issues had arisen.
“Nobody is suspended, and nobody is to step aside. All of those matters were dealt with and concluded. So, we came in together, united, we left together—and I’m happy.”
With several major tournaments on the horizon, SAFA’s leadership appears focused on fine-tuning structures and support for national teams in a year that could define South Africa’s standing on the global stage.
