Safa NEC appoint pair to probe dispute between soccer bodies

The SA Football Association (Safa) head office in Johannesburg has appointed NEC members Mzimkhulu Ndlelo and Mzimkhulu Fina to speedily tackle the longstanding impasse between Safa Buffalo City and East London Central LFA (ELCLFA).

Ndlelo and Fina were appointed after the bickering between the two parties came to a head last week when the LFA executive was hauled before a disciplinary hearing by the region.

A highly-placed source at Safa who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media said the national body wanted the matter resolved as soon as possible. “The head office has resolved that NEC member Mzimkhulu Ndlelo and Mzimkhulu Fina must look into the matter, engage the warring parties and come up with solutions,” the unnamed source said.

“What we want to see and sooner than later, if football is being played without hindrance in the Buffalo City region and all its LFAs.

“Among other things the two NEC members will be expected to look at the legality or lack thereof of the disbandment of two LFAs, East London Central and King East, by Safa Buffalo City.”

The ELCLFA last week again rebelled against the region by not showing up at the disciplinary hearing, saying it was a political witch-hunt.

The five-member ELCLFA executive headed by Gavin van Rooyen were charged with:

Ignoring the directive of the region to cooperate with an administrator when the LFA was put under administration;

Acting in contravention of the Safa media policy by going to the media to attack the regional executive;

Fraudulently compiling minutes of a meeting that never took place;

Paying Van Rooyen's legal fees for his personal matter from the LFA’s coffers to the tune of about R5 000;

Van Rooyen and Burton Brown for ignoring their suspensions;

Taking to Facebook to insult the regional leadership using racist and derogatory remarks.

Van Rooyen dismissed all charges as a laughing stock asking: “How can can the same Safa Buffalo City haul us before a disciplinary committee when they dissolved us in June?”.

ELCLFA was dissolved at a Safa BC ordinary congress in June and incorporated into the Bunkers West LFA.

According to Van Rooyen, the DC hearing move was part of a bigger plot by the region to capture their LFA ahead of what is expected to be a heated election for a new regional leadership next year.

“The charges against us are fabricated because none makes reference to any contravention of Safa Buffalo City and Safa National statutes, Van Rooyen said.

“We believe that the DC hearing is politically motivated to divide and destabilise our structure in order to take full control of our football facilities and to ensure that they have the members that will vote them back in when elections take place next year.”

Safa Buffalo City president Prince Sibam, said it would be premature of the region to comment on the matter before the DC released its findings.

“We will issue a full statement when the DC has released its report into the matter,” he said.

Van Rooyen said whatever the DC found, they would carry on with football business at North End until such time that the intervention of the national body was concluded.