FIFA counting on SAFA Indaba to take TDS implementation forward

The SA Football Association are hosting its Indaba/Workshop with all 52 regions and associate members over the course of today and tomorrow under the theme “Increasing Global Competitiveness: A South African Model.”

This comes from the ecosystem report put together by FIFA Head of Global Football Arsene Wenger, in which he highlighted how far behind South African football actually is, both at amateur and professional level.

"Education was a huge pillar for us, to make sure that we are equipping people with the right knowledge and resources to do their work, so it's very important we increase the permits in that department for this TDS to be successful," FIFA’s High Performance Manager Abdul Faisal explained.

"In addition, collaboration with the stakeholders is key. The member association cannot do it alone, we have to include the key stakeholders – the clubs, sponsors, government, and you guys as the media, all have a role to play in this.

"But all will be addressed in the annual Indaba, as I understand it's called, this weekend, so I'm looking forward to that, and once everybody is aligned, I think we will be ready to move to the implementation stage."

Also in the TDS report, FIFA noted the lack of collaboration between SAFA and its special member the Premier Soccer League (PSL), and how this was crippling the local game, especially on player development. 

"We are arranging [but] it's not our role as FIFA to step in there. It's our role to guide and advise the member association [SAFA] to sort of do that [monitor and enforce compliance with club licensing regulations]," he added.

"I know we've spoken about that and I know the MA will look after that. If we have to come in at some point, we will, but at the moment, we know the MA is working on that and I think there's been some progress there."