Eastern Cape regions push unity agenda ahead of SAFA elections

Nowalaza, is a prominent football administrator in the province, and earlier this year, he was re-elected for a third term in the regional elections. OR Tambo is an area that covers Mthatha, Lusikisiki, Port St Johns and Tsolo areas and is also known for producing some of the finest talent in the Eastern Cape province. He talks about the vision he has for his area and the province in general... 

"I cannot say I'm happy or excited to be nominated because we don't know what is going to happen on the 12th of September, but it's the football challenges that I'm focusing on, especially schools football. We need somebody with a vision on how to take school football forward and how to take SAFA forward, which goes beyond just holding onto the position. I'm going to achieve my vision."

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Nowalaza has been a football servant in this province at various levels and was one of the prominent administrators of schools’ football. Despite being aligned to the Football Transformation Forum (FTF), a lobby group behind the incumbent Danny Jordaan’s fourth term campaign as the SAFA president, Nowalaza says they need leadership that will be looking to improve all the structures of the game.

SAFA Amathole regional President Mbongeni Matanda is one of the two known regions in the province that are backing AmaZulu boss, Sandile Zungu’s presidential campaign. He says their primary focus is to see football development being the main agenda of the camp that will emerge.

 EC has got eight regions, with five said to be behind Jordaan, two behind Zungu. The one remaining region, Sarah Baartman, is yet to hold elections after their congress collapsed recently, with allegations that some NEC members from the FTF brought fraudulent vetting forms, and a case has since been opened against them. 

In the past, SAFA elections have also seen a serious lack of unity pre and post the elections, and this has seen football losing a lot of leaders at all levels of the game. Matanda says unity needs to be prioritised, and the purging of football leaders done away with.

The provincial, regional and local SAFA structures also work a lot with government, and the MEC of Sport, Arts and Culture in the Eastern Cape, Sibulele Ngongo, says they need leadership that will be passionate about development, and it’s programmes...

"All that we need from SAFA is leadership that is passionate about football, leadership that is selfless and is willing to go the extra mile to ensure that the game is developing. We want all the egos and pride to be left behind."