Gordon Igesund's Bafana: "We won't play Brazil feeling inferior"

Start of a new era: Bafana boss Gordon Igesund

Gordon Igesund has picked his first Bafana Bafana squad - to play Brazil in Sao Paolo on September 7, kick-off 8.45pm on SABC1.

No surprises among the goalkeepers with Moeneeb Josephs back ("I didn't beg him," Igesund said) and Orlando Pirates Siya Sangweni in at the back with Morgan Gould injured ("That was a big blow to us and to Kaizer Chiefs").

In midfield, Igesund had picked Kamohelo Makotjo from Feyenoord ("Playing in a good League in Holland's Ere divisie, deserves a chance") and Kgosi Ntlhe ("Playing for Peterborough in a very touch Championship, I spoke to his boss Darren Ferguson (Son of Sir Alex) and he said Kgosi is just 18 but he'll never let me down").

Up front, Dino Ndlovu is in after early goals for Maccabi Haifa in Israel (Gordon said: "Who's to say he's not our next superstar. He's getting goals, he's sharp.")

Goalkeepers

Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns), Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates), Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)

Defenders

Siyabonga Sangweni (Orlando Pirates), Bevan Fransman (SuperSport United), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, Greece), Erick Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs), Anele Ngcongca (Genk, Belgium), Punch Masenamela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Thabo Matlaba (Orlando Pirates), Kgosi Ntlhe (Peterborough, England)

Midfielders

Kamohelo Makotjo (Feyenoord, Holland), Steven Pienaar (captain)(Everton, England), Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala (both Kaizer Chiefs), Thulani Serero (Ajax Amsterdam, Holland), Katlego Mashego (Free State Stars), Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic, England), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England)

Strikers

May Mahlangu (Malmo, Sweden), Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs), Lerato Chabangu, Siyabonga Nomvete (both Moroka Swallows), Dino Ndlovu (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Thamsanqa Gabuza (Golden Arrows)

Gordon added: "Tokelo Rantie is the only player I picked and then left out. I spoke to Malmo, where he's scored four goals already, and they said he's only 60 percent fit. Tokelo told me that when I spoke to him. I appreciate his honesty."

No sign of Benni McCarthy, but Lerato Chagangu and Siyabonga Nomvete, Gordon's former Swallows, both make it. 

Igesund added: "Look, we all know Brazil are five times champions of the world, but that doesn't mean we will go out there feeling inferior. We don't have the best preparation, but we'll turn that in to a positive.

"I don't go out playing not to lose. We will go out there playing wide men, playing to win. It's Brazil's biggest national holiday on the 7th, it won't be a friendly, they've got their best side out. But we have to be positive.

"We have to win AFCON 2013, that's the big picture. I believe this is a good side, well-balanced. It will change before AFCON, no doubt. But this is a well-balanced side. This is the start of a new era for Bafana Bafana." 

The uncomfortable truth: Why Irvin Khoza can't run Orlando Pirates and the PSL

The Iron Duke: Irvin Khoza

AFTER two years back in South Africa, it's time to address one of the serious problems surrounding the PSL, indisputably the richest league on the continent. It’s time to ask salient questions about the all-powerful Irvin Khoza, despite my twitter timeline being haunted by the Ghost of Soweto. Time to lay my cards on the table without fear or favour.

This isn't the blog I intended to put up today. My thoughts are drawn to Gordon Igesund's first Bafana Bafana squad and the resignation of England Test cricket captain Andrew Strauss, both of which will be announced today.

But the demands from Orlando Pirates fans on Facebook and Twitter knows no limits. They want me to explain why I feel their beloved Iron Duke should step down from his position of PSL chairman as soon as possible, for the sake of the game.

I should point out I've never met the man. Back in the 1980s, when I was heavily involved in South African football, the Iron Duke was a shadow in the foothills of football, a minor extra without an illustrious career in the game like the powerful figures of the time, Kaizer Motaung and Jomo Sono.

Khoza's rise to prominence, his incredible journey to a controlling position at Orlando Pirates, is easy to explain. The 64-year-old is a political genius, a master of diplomacy, despite an arrest for tax fraud in 2001 and two fines for insurance fraud.

He now holds a majority interest in the Orlando Stadium, has vast power within SAFA, decides the direction of the national team and - after playing a leading role in a highly successful World Cup on South African soil - he was able to focus on his beloved Buccaneers and they promptly picked up two successive trebles.

I'm told Khoza also has a stake in the Ellis Park sporting precinct, I've seen his mansion in Soweto - and he even has President Jacob Zuma in his family tree, though I won't go in to that here.

The conflict of interest inherent in Khoza's position as the major power at Orlando Pirates, the PSL and SAFA shouldn't need to be explained, but here I will list my reasons why I believe all is not right given the current status quo.

ONE: When Orlando Pirates fans got out of hand on Saturday night at Khoza's Orlando Stadium, I was there. I pointed out the paucity of trained stewards, the lack of warnings from the public address system and the presence of fireworks and bottles among the unsearched Ghost which led to a brief stoppage of game and several injuries.

On Monday on eNCAnews, eTV Sunrise, KayaFM, here and in The New Age, I highlighted a list of measures which should now be taken to ensure there is no repeat of the violence which broke out during a shock 3-0 MT8 defeat at the hands of SuperSport United.

With Khoza's Pirates fined FOUR TIMES since March last year, I called for immediate and punitive action. A big fine, a game played behind closed doors and further punishment for the apologetic Benni McCarthy, whose needless red card ultimately led to Saturday night's trouble, which I witnessed from a position amid the furious Buccaneer fans.

What did Khoza's PSL do? They charged arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs AND Orlando Pirates with failing control their fans. Once more, we witnessed the shrewd political machinations of the Iron Duke. The AmaKhozi DID throw a few things at Lotus Versfeld on August 5 but that was nearly a month ago, and there had been no calls for further action from ANYBODY. It was not a major incident.

It's arguable Chiefs deserved some sort of censure for their away fans that day, but in football, the conduct of travelling supporters is difficult to monitor. It may be that Khoza had no part to play in this decision to charge BOTH of South Africa's giants on the same day.

But as long as the Iron Duke runs both the PSL and Pirates, it's hard to see yesterday's move as anything other than an attempt to deflect attention away from the problems at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night, where Khoza is ultimately responsible for security and fan behaviour.

We shall find out if real action is taken against the Buccaneers on September 7, when the hearing in to both situations is held.

TWO: Though nobody is questioning Orlando Pirates' position as the premier team in South Africa after their two successive PSL championships, it was a bit of a surprise when FOR THE SECOND SEASON RUNNING, the Buccaneers were "drawn" to play Golden Arrows on the last day of last season.

Pirates duly won the PSL with that come-from-behind victory against Golden Arrows inspired by a Benni McCarthy brace. What are the odds on that happening, given the League fixtures are supposed to be drawn at random with the help of computer scheduling?

And, unless I've been misinformed, Khoza's relationship with Arrows chairperson Mato Madlala and her family goes back a long, long way, to the re-founding of the franchise in 1996. Again, this could be pure coincidence, but with the Pirates chairman in charge of the PSL, what are we to think?

THREE: With his side just hours away from opening the new season against, ironically, Golden Arrows, we had Squveve suddenly bursting on to our television screens to tell us all about the new-fangled “Q innovation” with sponsors ABSA.

Though I have no problem with the idea of giving the quarterly winners of the PSL R1.5m and the ultimate champions R10m, I said immediately that the added concept of providing R500,000 to journalists who correctly predicted the most results every quarter. That goes against journalistic ethics and, arguably, could even taint the attitude of certain media pundits.

To have the chairman change the rules of the PSL hours before his own team – aiming for a hat-trick of titles - kicked-off the season would be seen an unusual in any league in the world. To offer money to journalists rather than fans for their predictions? Unthinkable.

And the fact that only “certain” journalists have been approached for their predictions makes the whole thing curiouser still. Somehow media men critical of Khoza were left off the list – I can only speak for myself. PSL PRO Altaaf Kazi used to email me everything last season. Now I’m persona non grata, which is why I chose to sit in the stands at 

Orlando last week rather than the press box. 

Is that why neither of the major South African football websites mentioned the game-stopping trouble at the Orlando Stadium in their match reports on Saturday night? Of course, I could be wrong, but with Khoza in his dual position of power, it’s hard to put two and two together without making half a million.

FOUR: Whatever happened to PSL CEO Stanley Matthews? Why did he stand down when everything appeared to be going so well? I met Matthews a couple of times before his sudden departure in July, have tried to get him to talk to me about the problems which led to his resignation. I’ve heard nothing. Nobody has. It’s as if he never existed.

Could it be that he stood up to the machinations that were going on behind the scenes at the PSL? As a former SuperSport United executive, he would have railed against potential bias being shown toward any particular club. At the PSL awards at Gold Reef City I was particularly interested to see the relationship between Khoza and Matthews. And between the Pirates boss and Amakhosi founder Kaizer Motaung.

There was no doubt who was in charge, even at a largely social occasion. A couple of weeks later, Matthews was gone. So was Altaaf Kazi. We can only guess at the root causes of their unhappiness, but Khoza has done nothing to explain.

I will let this argument stand at that. Four good reasons why Irvin Khoza SHOULD NOT be allowed to run the PSL and the South African champions. I could go in to the failure of Danny Jordaan’s FIFA-backed bid for the SAFA presidency, the bizarre posse of unwanted Pirates who headed to promoted Chippa United shortly after their promotion or the PSL’s strange silence on the corruption charges against Bobby Motaung earlier this month.

But I won’t. I daren’t. Instead, chew over the four scenarios above. Understand that I have no bias here. It is in the interests of South African football to have an efficient administration, and we all know Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are integral to the success of the PSL.

What I fear is this. If South African football is run as a monopoly, with the chairman having direct links to the president of the country, FIFA and/or CAF will act. Just as they threw Tunisia’s Etoile Sahel out of the African League after a missile-throwing crowd invasion last week, Pirates must put their ship in order.

Justice must be seen to be done. And, though Pirates fans won’t like it, the only way to do that is to appoint a neutral PSL chief and a new CEO. Not to mention a proper head of SAFA rather than a compromise candidate.

It won’t be painless. But in the long run, South African football will benefit.

A sad night at the Orlando Stadium: The lessons South African football MUST learn from Saturday's violence

Pirates ahoy: the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night. Picture: IOL

There are vital lessons to be learned for South African football after Saturday night's troubled scenes following SuperSport United's shock 3-0 win over Orlando Pirates in a stormy MTN8 semi-final.

What happened on Saturday night – Benni McCarthy’s indiscipline, inept stewarding, poor security – cannot be glossed over as the club run by PSL Chairman Irvin Khoza attempts to put right Saturday’s on-field problems.

These are not the rantings of an angry fan of either side. I was at the game, in the midst of the Orlando Pirates fans, with my friend Khotso Ditshego. We witnessed every minute of the trouble, and the aftermath as we walked home from the ground close to midnight. I have seen trouble break out at games in England, Demark and France... and grew up amid serious football violence in South Africa in the dark days under Apartheid.

Determined action must be taken to avoid a repeat. But I fear it won't.
According to www.kickoff.com (neither they nor Laduma, the two biggest SA soccer sites mentioned the match-stopping violence in their match reports), Pirates have been fined a total of R361 000 for four incidents since March 2011, "yet the club keeps getting penalised for more or less the same small amount, with the majority suspended".
The whole situation highlights the conflict of interest inherent in having a club chairman running the national league, we can only hope the Iron Duke recognises that and allows a rigorous inquiry into what happened at his own stadium.

Instead I suspect we will hear all about how referee Robert Smith was suspended last year for failing to send off an unnamed Jomo Cosmos player for an apparent red card offence against AmaZulu.

Pirates coach Augusto Palacios has already suggsted Smith was at fault for infuriating the Ghost, but this is NOT about inept refereeing.

Though PSL head of communications Connie Motshumi suggests there WILL be disciplinary proceedings, I predict a small fine and a rap over the knuckles for the PSL champions.

But here's what should happen. Benni McCarthy, despite his twittered apology on Sunday, should be fined and suspended by the club on top of the regulation PSL punishment for red card. His actions, rushing over to confront Franklin Cale after a foul on Daine Klate, inflamed the situation and ultimately cost Pirates the match. To his credit, Benni has admitted as much on twitter.

Secondly, the stewards should hauled over the coals for failing to apprehend bottle throwers, inept searches of fans entering the stadium and allowing entry to drunken supporters. Instead, they simply stood and watched as the missiles came down. In Europe, stewards immediately make their way in to the fans - no matter how angry they are - and eject offenders from the ground.

I'm not saying the Orlando stewards weren't brave - just unprepared for the trouble and lacking training in how to deal with such situations. In Britain, stewards DON'T watch the football, they spend the entire game with their backs to the action looking for troublemakers. They act immediately to forcibly remove missile throwers, racist chanters and fights. That's why they're there. 

Thirdly, the public address announcer failed to call for calm or an end to the throwing of bottles and fireworks - even when the game was briefly suspended when Rowen Fernandez' goal came under fire. The PA announced substitutions throughout, but failed to respond to the growing violence.

Fourthly, fans in rival shirts belonging to a third team must be turned away. The thought of attending a Spurs v Chelsea game in an Arsenal shirt is just unthinkable in London. The practice MUST be banned in South Africa. Specifically, Kaizer Chiefs fans must be told to remove their colours at Pirates matches, and vice versa.

And finally, Buccaneer fans, shocked to find a referee brave enough to brandish a red card in Orlando, should be excluded from the next home game – a “behind closed doors" policy UEFA regularly uses in these situations. It hits the club hard in the pocket and reinforces the punishment for bad behaviour.

These lessons, particularly the training of stewards, must be learned.

Otherwise South African football could find itself back in the bad old days of crowd violence, intimidation and poor policing that were a major part of the game here and in Europe thirty years ago. I know. I was there. And nobody wants that.

Storm brews as Sundowns turn down R5m Russian bid for Siyanda Xulu

To Russia with love: Sundowns defender Siyanda Xulu

MAMELODI SUNDOWNS have turned down a second offer for defender Siyanda Xulu from Russian club Rostov – their decision to reject a R5m bid for the 20-year-old has left his representative Paul Mitchell from Siyavuma Sports “very disappointed”.

Mitchell, who also oversaw Aaron Mokoena’s move to Wits last month, said: “It’s frustrating that the move for Siyanda has been turned down, we understand at the end of the day he’s a contracted player and Sundowns have every right to decide his value.

“But we feel that the over-inflated South African market is now starting to have an effect on young South African players leaving our shores for better things.

“Siyanda has always had a burning ambition to play overseas and has been promised if a reasonable offer came in, he would be allowed to leave. Unfortunately, the offer put forward has not been deemed reasonable by Sundowns and at the end of the day, he’s a contracted player.”

Mitchell took highly-ranked Xulu, poached from Kaizer Chiefs as a teenager, to Barcelona and Arsenal last season, provoking considerable interest. Mitchell said: “He was ready to go to Barca when they sacked their entire academy staff, then we organised a loan move to Atletico Madrid but Sundowns rejected that, they were worried he might lose confidence if, at the end of the loan, a permanent deal never happened.

“Arsene Wenger had a look at him and he liked what he saw. He said Siyanda was a perfect Premier League full-back, he just needed to get used to the physicality.

“Now we have this offer from Rostov, a major club in a big league. I can’t tell you how frustrating this is for a young player like Siyanda. He deserves his chance to play overseas. But as I will reiterate he’s a Sundowns player.”

Rostov, promoted to the increasingly lucrative Russian Premier League in 2008, finished mid-table last season, with Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa and Cameroon defender Benoit Angbwa among their current squad. The club has a unique link with South Africa -  Matthew Booth, Tony Coyle, Rowan Hendricks, Bennett Mnguni and Zaphet Zwane have all played in the popular tourist port.

Sundowns Dutch coach Johan Neeskens said: “If Rostov offer what Sundowns feel is a fair transfer fee then we’ll let him go. He’s a very talented defender and we deserve to get a good price for Siyanda.”

Mitchell added: “Look at the end of the day, we’re in the same position as when the Atletico offer was turned down. Siyanda showed tremendous maturity in brushing himself down and getting on with the job in hand at Sundowns. As we’ve discussed, Siyanda will continue to do his level best for Sundowns and Bafana Bafana.”

While Xulu is in limbo, his club-mate Mushekwi – top scorer in the Nedbank Cup last season -  is also struggling to be released by Sundowns after passing a medical with Bundesliga newcomers Greuthe Furth.

Mushekwi’s agent Ralph Nkomo is hoping the Tshwane Brazilians will accept a R10m bid for the 24-year-old, who has also attracted interest from Belgium’s Standard Liege and English Championship club Sheffield Wednesday after video footage of his six goals in the 24-0 Nedbank Cup victory over shocking Powerlines echoed around the footballing world.

Nkomo said: “We are preparing a proposal which will put Nyasha’s future in his own hands. We are obviously hoping this matter could be resolved.”

45 days: Chippa United set new record for shortest coaching reign

Chippa off the old block: Mpengesi appoints Mngqithi on July 9

Chippa United axed coach Manqoba Mngqithi just two games in to the new PSL season today, beating by ONE DAY the record held by Frenchman Jean Yves Kerjean, who was in charge of Black Leopards for just one League game in 2005.

After 180 minutes in the top flight,  a gutsy 1-0 defeat against big-spending Mamelodi Sundowns and an 87^th-minute 2-1 defeat against Free State Stars last night, Mngqithi prounounced himself satisfied with his promoted team. He said: "We stood our ground and were unfortunate to concede a late goal. I'm very optimistic and confident from what I've seen.”

Former Golden Arrows and AmaZulu coach Mngqithi, who surprisingly replaced promotion-clinching coach Roger Sikhakane on July 9, obviously hadn’t considered how his pointless efforts had gone down with controversial club founder Siviwe Mpengesi. And he was promptly sacked this afternoon with Chippa team manager Wanda Mbenguza saying: “We have agreed to part ways with the coach.”

Mpengesi said on Umhlobo FM tonight: "There was no direction, and the future wasn't bright so we decided to let him go while it is still early, before a lot of damage can happen.” 

Mpengesi, a 34-year-old former security guard from Ngqamakwe in the Eastern Cape, has turned Chippa Investment Holdings (who do everything from tree-felling to industrial waste, security to conract cleaning) in to a multi-million corporation since 2002 and his football team, as we now know, demands similar gut-busting success.

When Sikhakane achieved promotion after play-offs against Thanda Royal Zulu and Santos, Mpengesi famously said: "Roger is a coach who understands our team culture; I can't afford to have someone that will come with a different philosophy. I am happy with the coach and the technical team and that will remain the same with no changes.”

That was July 3. By July 9, Mngqiti was appointed with a flourish, saying: “I am excited about the new prospect. I did my own homework on Chippa. We will be aiming very high in the season.”

Now, 45 days later, Mngqiti is jobless. As far as I can tell, Kerjean was in charge of the Leopards from June 27 to August 12, 2005 before an opening 1-0 defeat against a 10-man Orlando Pirates – that’s 46 days. It appears we have a new record in South African football management.

But then what should we expect from a two-year-old club, still in nappies in footballing terms? The club was only founded in June 2010, when they bought out Mbekweni Cosmos, a Castle League franchise at the time.

In their first season, the Chilli Boys won the Western Cape Province section of the Vodacom League registering 26 victories, 5 draws and only 1 defeat. Then they cruised through the Vodacom Promotional Championship play-offs in June 2011 to qualify for the National First Division last season. At that point 

Then Sikhakane helped the club to finish in the play-off places in the NFD behind champions AmaTuks – and the rest is history.

My old pal from Umlazi Bush Bucks in the 1980s Mlungisi “Professor” Ngubane – currently in charge of Thanda Royal Zulu - is being touted as the next Chippa coach, though I would suggest former Moroka Swallows boss Ian Gorowa may also be a contender. The Prof took over from Chippa’s first coach Mike Lukhubeni before Sikhakane was installed at the start of 2012.

Either way, they shouldn’t expect much of a honeymoon from Mpengesi. Still, 44 days is not as bad as the world record for a football boss.

That’s held by Leroy Rosenior, who was in charge of England’s Torquay United for a grand total of TEN MINUTES in 2007. He was appointed just as a local consortium took over the club and named former Exeter City assistant manager Paul Buckle as their manager instead.

A tale of suspension: The scandal of South Africa's National First Division which leaves Jomo Sono sidelined

Super Sono: will we ever see this again?

THERE is a scandal lurking beneath the surface of South Africa football which needs to be urgently addressed. It has nothing to do with Bobby Motaung’s dealings in Mbombela or the way Orlando Pirates go for the ball.

This is a far more pressing problem involving a missing teenager: What exactly has happened to the 16-year-old National First Division?

Last week, as the Premier Soccer League celebrated the return of ABSA, introduced the Q innovation and offered journalists R500,000 to predict results, we were told the NFD was “suspended until further notice”.

That’s like the Championship in England being called off a week after it was due to start… an unthinkable act of footballing foolishness.

Acting PSL CEO Cambridge Mokanyane, a controversial caretaker following the shock departure of Stanley Matthews at the end of last season, says we must now wait for a Special General Meeting “towards the end of August 2012” that will decide on the future of the NFD.

But exactly why Mokanyane was involved is hard to fathom, given that the members agreed just a week earlier that the NFD should be a stand-alone league in an effort to make it more viable as an attractive brand.

What we do know is this: relegated Premier League sides Jomo Cosmos and Santos, along with failed play-off contenders Thanda Royal Zulu, are now operating in a vacuum. They have resumed pre-season training and are paying large squads of professional players – but they have no fixture list and no prospect of a game – or promotion - in sight.

Jomo Sono, the larger-than-life proprietor of relegated PSL club Cosmos, insists: “I know both leagues because we have played in both of them for quite some time. It’s high time the NFD realised its potential in terms of competing for support and raising the level of competition on the field."

While the new-fangled PSL offers R1.5m to the quarterly winners of their top tier, the NFD remains dramatically sponsor-free and racked by legal action brought over the presence of various unregistered players last season.

Blackburn Rovers had a drawn out issue and just last week it was announced that Carara Kicks have been relegated from the league which South African football relies upon to feed clubs in to the Premier.

Though there is no date set for the “special meeting”,  the PSL – sponsors of the NFD when Mvelaphanda pulled out in 2007 - insist they will "deliberate and expand on the NFD matter" but nobody is willing to talk and the First division teams have NOT YET been give their R250 000 monthly grant (the Premier clubs receive R1m) though the PSL's head of communications Connie Motshumi insists thi will happen soon.

When the NFD split from the PSL, Jabu Khumalo, boss of long-running NFD side African Warriors, said: "We are confident that the stand-alone National First Division will grow as a big sporting brand in South Africa and on the continent.

"We have many companies that we intend approaching to sponsor us, including television companies to broadcast our matches."

But Khumalo insists the word “split” is too strong. He said: “It’s too strong to say split. It doesn’t perfectly describe what this is all about.

“There is the main body which runs both the PSL and the NFD, the NSL. Should this go ahead it will remain like that only that the NFD will not fall under the PSL as it has  in the past but will be a standalone league.

“We will then start mobilising sponsors and re-brand the league to make it more attractive to not only future funders but fans too.

“This will have a positive impact on South African football in the long run. We will continue to be a development league for the PSL but now we will  be giving them stronger teams and stronger players who can compete, raising the bar.”

Khumalo says: “The problem is that we have been overshadowed by the PSL for far too long and initially it will be hard but we can make it work.”

And we can only hope he’s right. A Premier League without a feeder system and, possibly, without promotion and relegation, is unthinkable.

This article appeared in www.thenewage.co.za today... if you have any information of the impact of the NFD suspension, please email me on www.nealcollins.hotmail.com.

Hawks swoop on Bobby Motaung: the son of Kaizer must fight for his rights

Under pressure: Bobby Motaung

BOBBY MOTAUNG was arrested by the Hawks today. Kaizer Chiefs haven’t had much to say about it, the police refuse to confirm it… but the word is he’s going to be charged with corruption, fraud and possibly more.

For those who live in peculiar Pofadder and no nothing about the world out there, Bobby is a major player in South African football. He is the son of Kaizer Motaung, who founded South Africa’s most popular club in 1972 after a glittering career in the NPSL.

While Kaizer happily played with and against the greats of the world game – Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best – and earned a reputation as a great South African long before Apartheid was assigned to the dustbin, his son Bobby was gifted the job of a lifetime by his father.

Last season, when he was under-fire for the way he does the general manager’s job at Naturena, Bobby famously told us: “I didn’t need a CV for this career. Kaizer Chiefs is a family business. Nothing you can say will worry me. I wasn’t appointed by the ANC.”

I said at the time that attitude stinks – and his father backed me up, apologising for his son’s behaviour. I suggested Bobby’s youngest brother Kaizer Junior would be a better figurehead, or his sister Jessica, currently the club’s marketing manager.

But Bobby carried on serenely, signing players, doing deals, insisting Tower Mathoho should go from Bloemfontein Celtic to the Amakhosi, even though they were offering half of what Mamelodi Sundowns were prepared to pay.

There was that difficult time pre-season, when the Motaungs were in mourning for a family member and Bobby left Jessica to present his new signings. In a hurried affair timed to coincide with the arrival of new coach Stuart Baxter, they presented seven new players including Kingston Nkatha, who was still under contract at Leopards and, famously, the No3 shirt which they hoped Tower would one day wear. It was a farce.

And in their opening competitive game of the season, both Bobby and Baxter – who lied on his CV and was clearly the cheap, malleable choice – were holding their heads in their hands as Chiefs went 4-0 down against Sundowns in just 37 minutes on the way to a drubbing.

Of course, they went on to record a rousing 6-0 win over AmaZulu in their opening PSL clash last Saturday but it’s possible to see that result as a simple papering over of the cracks at the AmaKhosi.

The Hawks are refusing tonight to confirm the identities of the “two prominent people” arrested on theft and forgery charges “related to the construction of the R1 billion Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga.

Ironically, I’m about half-an-hour from the giraffe-adorned stadium at Mjejane River Lodge enjoying the wild life. I didn’t expect the big game to be hunted down quite so close to here. Understandably, Hawks Spokesperson McIntosh Polela “can neither confirm nor deny” that Bobby Motaung was picked up this morning.

But I can confirm Bobby is due to appear in court, one of THREE men who, according to Polela, are due to appear in court tomorrow.

Polela told the SABC: "It's regarding the alleged fraud forging of a South African Revenue Services (SARS) document to apply for a tender contract to work in relation to the Mbombela stadium. What happened is that the Hawks as well as SARS have arrested a person in Naturena as well as Cape Town and we are currently looking for a third person."

The fabulous Mbombela Stadium, built in the footballing wilderness just south of the Kruger Park on the road to Mocambinque, might have been better of had it been designed with white elephants rather than giraffes as a support structure.

And few need reminding that the Mbombela Local Municipality's speaker, Jimmy Mohlala, was gunned down at his home in Kanyamazane in 2009, after threatening to blow the whistle on the alleged corruption related to the tender and construction of the stadium.

I know nothing of such goings-on. Only that Bobby was warned he wasn’t above the rules of ordinary men. He may be the son of Kaizer, but from where I stand, he was never fit to lace the great man’s boots.