RESPECT FOR HLOMPHO KEKANA... and another chance for Bafana to restore South Africa's pride

MARK GLEESON, a man who knows something about South African football, described it as “the best goal Bafana Bafana have ever scored.”

I took the 2m tall SuperSport commentator to his first professional football game as a journalist in 1985 in Durban - at Glebelands in Umlazi. We’ve seen a lot of goals, but Hlompho Kekana’s 65m effort against Cameroon deserved to win ANY game.

Sadly, it didn’t. Cameroon came back from Tokelo Rantie’s excellent early strike in Limbe and then, after the shock of Kekana’s wonder goal, they did it again to ensure the Lions remain Indomitable at home.

The strike...

Tonight at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, Shakes Mashaba’s men - the first side to take points off Cameroon in Group M - get another chance to save some pride in what has been a disastrous AFCON 2017 qualifying campaign.

Two points from three games - after a home draw against little Gambia and that awful defeat in Mauritania - means qualification for Gabon next year is highly unlikely.

But a win tonight might just open the door a crack, assuming both Cameroon (seven points) and Mauritania (six points) slip up badly on the run in. Only the Group M leaders qualify for AFCON 2017 - along with the best two runners-up out of 13.

Even if they win ALL of their last three qualifiers, Bafana can only reach 11 points. Like their cricketing cousins, South Africa’s footballers appear to have choked in what looked a reasonable qualifying group.

Kekana himself, picked by Gordon Igesund for the national team in the 0-0 draw against New Zealand two years ago, refuses to be downhearted as videos of his Beckhamesque goal flash around the globe.

He says: “We should not be where we are at the moment. We know how important the points are in this group and if we have to start collecting them.

...the goal...

“The Durban match a very crucial one. A win there will enhance our chances and we know we are very capable of doing that, we just need to apply ourselves a little better and try to minimise mistakes.”

Of THAT goal, Kekana grins:  “I always check how the keeper leaves his line when they are attacking. This started at Sundowns training four months back.

“After we dispossesed Cameroon I looked up and saw the keeper well off his line and I took a chance, thankfully it went in.

“I was very excited - I’ve been trying to score goals like that at Sundowns but I couldn’t. At training I would hit more than ten balls with none going in and it was frustrating.

“But when the goals come in a match of the calibre against Cameroon it always bring joy – and not only to me but to my teammates and the entire country which shows just how much the goals means to everyone, not just to me. So this goal is for them.

...the celebration

"Saturday in Limbe was a very tactical match; both teams had an attacking mind. It’s a game we thought we will win but it wasn’t to be.

"We gave away the lead too easily but then again a point away from home is also welcome, but we know we could have done better. But hey this is Cameroon we are talking about here; few teams can achieve what we have done.

"We really have to win on Tuesday night, we have no more options left as we are left with nine points to play for seeing that we only have two after three matches. Three points will take us closer to the leaders with two matches remaining and we have to fight. I believe in this team and still think that we stand a chance of going to Gabon."

With any luck Kekaha can produce another wonder goal tonight. And Tokelo Rantie showed on Saturday he can score in Africa despite being ejected from Bournemouth's Premier League squad.

Three points won’t solve Mashaba’s problems but it will certainly go some way towards restoring South Africa’s footballing pride.

REVEALED: The SAFA letter from Wilson Raj Perumal, master match-fixer. Not sent to Leslie Sedibe but to Kirsten Nematandani

EXCLUSIVE: This is the letter now-banned former SAFA CEO Leslie Sedibe
was waving about at his press conference today. His name does not appear. But
former SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani and Wilson Raj Perumal ARE there

EXCLUSIVE: original notes from Leslie Sedibe's FIFA interview, mentioned today
He says SAFA was dysfunctional. And that Bafana Bafana had no money or plans
for preparation. Here's what it goes on to say:

He found that with the 2010 World cup looming Bafana Bafana had no established training camp and all the main locations had been taken, the team had no warm up friendlies booked and they were running out of time to get them as most teams in the tournament had booked the best opposition already.

Mr. Sedibe went on to say that SAFA had no money at this time and few major sponsors even though they were hosting the world cup.

He felt he needed to concentrate on fund raising for training camps and bringing in sponsors.

Mr. Sedibe recalled that early in March games had been hastily arranged against Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

He said the bank had funded the training camp in Brazil as the Association had no money and that the team had mainly played club sides. The coach did not view this as ideal preparation for a World cup and requested another camp and against International competition, preferably against South American teams in preparation for Mexico who was to be Bafana Bafana’s opposition in the first stage of the WC.

The coach wanted a match that would be against opposition with a similar playing style and Mr. Sedibe agreed they should try to find a team that would be good opposition from South America but it proved to be quite difficult.

The team held a camp in Germany and had a game against China prepared but China pulled out at the last minute and the camp in Germany was not ideal preparation. The Team manager was deemed to be negligent and charges were listed against him. The team manager had also failed to provide a budget for the training camp after numerous requests to do so by Mr. Sedibe and the head of finance Mr. Gronie Hluyo. The team manager was removed from the training camp and pulled off the flight to Germany.

There were a number of issues Mr. Sedibe had to deal with in respect of this camp. There was no branding, matches were cancelled without notice by Bafana Bafana causing embarrassment to the sponsors Addidas who had acted to secure the team friendly matches at the last minute.

Mr. Sedibe called in Keith Darcy of KAM, a sports management company based in the UK to assist in recovering the training camp. Friendlies were arranged against Korea DPR and Jamaica.

Other international sides such as Italy, Brazil and Argentina were approached but they already had full warm up schedules.

The next camp was held in Johannesburg and again it was poor quality. Mr. Sedibe had managed to secure some funding from the Lotteries board at this time to ease the financial burden on the association but they were still in dire financial straits.

It was at this point that the approach to provide referees was made by football 4 U. The association was struggling for funding even with some money coming in from the lotteries board, the organization itself was dysfunctional and Mr. Sedibe spent most of his time away from the office working on sponsors and other revenue streams.

Mr. Sedibe did not remember Ace Kika or Steve Goddard bringing anyone to his office to discuss Football 4U, but he did not rule it out. He said it was entirely plausible but added that he would have seen any number of people and contracts through out a working day at that time, with the World cup countdown well and truly in progress.

Oh, and here's SAFA's response to the banning of Sedibe, Adeel Carelse and Steve Goddard in an official statement tonight, from Poobalan Govindsasamy, head of their Ethics Committee:

“At SAFA we have a zero-tolerance policy for any corrupt activity which impacts negatively on this beautiful game and for that reason we welcome strong measures against any individual who is found guilty of such offenses. This should serve as a warning to anyone harbouring intentions of engaging in nefarious activities within the sport that the long arm of the law will catch up with them. Be warned."

Govindsasamy, when challenged by Robert Marawa later, admitted he had no documents on the latest bannings and insisted he was NOT a paid official at SAFA. He claimed not to have been properly briefed by SAFA on the match-fixing affair. Shocking.

MATCH-FIXING IN ITS PUREST FORM: why Zimbabwe's scandal will create waves in South Africa

IMPLICATED: former Swallows coach Ian Gorowa

SOMEWHERE in Zimbabwe this morning, there is a bloke called “Ben” who must be a very frightened man.

Ben is the only name we have for the “whistle-blower” who has lifted the lid on the latest Zimbabwean match-fixing scandal, revealing a web of deceit which reaches deep in to South Africa’s PSL.

At least seven players at four South African clubs were offered payments in February this year. As far as we know, none of those approaches were reported to SAFA.

So what do we know about Ben? We know he gets on well with lots of professional footballers north of the Limpopo River. He’s probably a former professional footballer, and might have reached the lower ranks of agents and coaches.

We also know, thanks to the remarkable tales run in the Zimbabwe Herald this week, that “Ben” is well connected with ZIFA officials who are no strangers to such shady shenanigans.

There are other names too. A South Africa-based Italian (who may look Asian) called “Chief”, who is reputed to be related to the legendary match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal from Singapore. I believe this man is a former South African agent with links to the rapidly disappearing giant Moroka Swallows.

Then there’s former ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya (“Mutha” in match-fixing circles), former Moroka Swallows coach Ian Gorowa (“Ian” who was also a caretaker manager at Mamelodi Sundowns) and the infamous Edzai Kasinauyo (“Kazma") who used to play for Swallows and Ajax Cape Town.

The named players? George Chigova, the Polokwane City goalkeeper who just last month won Man of the Match against Kaizer Chiefs.

Chigova was allegedly paid $15 000 and Polokwane defensive midfielder Lebogang Motumi got $10 000 in a deal to lose against Bidvest Wits, currently second in the PSL. On January 22, Rise and Shine - having beaten SuperSport United 4-1 the previous weekend - lost 5-0 to the Clever Boys with James Keene scoring a hat-trick.

AmaTuks goalkeeper Washington Arubi is named too, though he vehemently refused to take money off “Ben” and “nearly assaulted” the whistle-blower.

However the approach - apparently including team-mate Partson Jaure - was never made public.

Bloemfontein Celtic ‘keeper Patrick Tignyemb and defensive midfielder Lansthene Phalane are also implicated, which might help to explain Siwelele’s worrying slide down the PSL table.

There is also mention of Chippa United defender Mbuyiselo Sambo, who apparently agreed to help lose a game against Free State Stars.

This is not rumour-mongering. Zimbabwean police have evidence of $400 000 payments made to a South African bank account, they have SMS and WhatsApp messages between the fixers.

From the makers of AsiaGate, when copies of the Zimbabwe team-list were routinely burned and players - still unpunished - contrived to lose all over the world, there is little doubt the sequel is far more serious for South Africa.

But my tweets about this affair have been ignored by SAFA and the PSL, not to mention their talkative Communications Directors Dominic Chimhavi and Luxulo September, the man who continues to deny us crowd figures for games in South Africa.

Mlungisi Ncame apparently travelled to Harare last week to view the evidence pertaining to the PSL. He’s SAFA’s “Head of Security” though we have not heard a word from an organisation run by President Danny Jordaan, who doubles up as major of Port Elizabeth these days.

Clearly, this is serious. Some kind of response should emenate from SAFA House or Parktown. Just look at this extract from "Ben" in his statement to ZIFA: 

“I eventually met Rushwaya at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton. She was with three men of Asian extraction, one of them called “Chief” who lives in South Africa.

“Rushwaya said she wanted to start a sports betting business focusing mainly on the South African ABSA Premier League and the Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League.

“She wanted to employ me because of my close association with Zimbabwean footballers based inside and outside South Africa. I was to distribute cash payments to footballers to compromising their performance for the benefit of the betting cartels.

“The first footballer I approached (Feb 2, 2016) was Washington Arubi who currently plays for University of Pretoria in South Africa with a view to persuade him to compromise his performance in the forthcoming match against Free State Stars.

“Upon broaching the subject with him he vehemently refused and even threatened to assault me. He then immediately reported me to (goalkeeping coach) Tendai Tanyanyiwa who threatened to call the police. I only escaped by fleeing the scene.

“I’m in possession of WhatsApp Messenger text messages which I exchanged with Rushwaya following the rejection of our offer by Arubi. I attach, hereto, a copy of those text messages as Annexure ‘A1-A-6’.

“At all material times I was liaising with and co-ordinating my role with Edzai who, after my escape from University of Pretoria, contacted me (Feb 4, 2016) through mobile number +27725702427 by sending a text message at 11:19 hours demanding the return of the money I had been given to give to Washington Arubi.

“Further I communicated with Edzai (Feb 17, 2016) on the same number after he had directed me to a meeting which was to be attended by Ian Gorowa.

“He assured me that Ian was very knowledgeable of match-fixing and had a relationship with many players since 1996.”

There is much discussion about fixing the upcoming AFCON qualifiers between Zimbabwe and Swaziland: “It was agreed that the first player to be approached would be Tatenda Mukuruva.

“We convened another meeting (in Sandton, Feb 29, 2016) which was attended by Rushwaya, Gorowa, ‘Chief’, Edzai and myself. Gorowa indicated that we target Mukuruva the goalkeeper.

“We had three players who were supposed to ensure that Zimbabwe would lose by a two-goal margin. In the event that Zimbabwe scored, the compromised players had to ensure that Zimbabwe lost 3-1 with an obligation to concede a penalty and receive a red card.”

It’s a statement that cannot be disputed. Match-fixing in its purest form. We wait SAFA’s response with some trepidation.

If you wish to use this story in your publication, please credit me and link to @nealcol on twitter. No charge.

SIMPLY NDORABLE: How Tendai finally grabbed his chance with a Soweto Derby double

THE THREE-HOUR HAIRCUT: Tendai
Ndoro shows off the style... and the Man
of the match Nedbank Green Jacket

TENDAI NDORO. Talk of the town. Two goals to win Saturday's Soweto Derby. Did it come as a surprise? Hope not, I've been talking about him for months.

Right at the start of the season, when the 27-year-old Zimbabwean striker appeared in Orlando Pirates gear for the first time, you could see the exuberance in the man from Harare, his natural knack of challenging defenders, finding the target.

It wasn’t surprising. Ndoro scored seven for Mpumalanga’s Black Aces in his first six months in 2014, I remember one night wishing out loud on Twitter that he would somehow stumble across a South African passport and help solve the Bafana Bafana striker crisis.

When Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates showed interest, Tendai - full name Takudzwa - might have been bewildered by his agent claiming English Premier League club Crystal Palace were interested. But he really did look that good.

A deal with Pirates finally emerged at the start of the season - Aces claimed he had another year to run on his contract but he found himself training with the Buccaneers by the time the season got underway.

Yet Ndoro found himself low down in the pecking order under Eric Tinkler. For months he watched as Kermit Erasmus, Thami Gabuza and Lehlohonolo Majoro took their places up front with varying levels of mediocrity.

At the time, with Pirates struggling in the lower half of the PSL, Ndoro said: “Talking about leaving Pirates in search of game time is something that is not in my vocabulary.” But you knew, in your heart, it wasn’t right.

I mentioned Ndoro’s life in limbo several times on Twitter. Nobody said much. But when Erasmus, claiming he was off to see the in-laws in Holland, signed for Rennes in France, Ndoro finally found himself taking a quick-step up the ladder.

Tinkler had little choice but to pick him as Gabuza self-destructed in front of goal and suddenly the cushion was discarded for the scoring boots. The games - and the goals - began to flow.

In the build-up to the Nedbank Cup Soweto Derby clash on Saturday, many were debating who should start up front. I said Ndoro was the obvious choice, though many felt Gabuza and Majoro were more likely.

Then God - the beardy guy who sometimes still brings out the old leather football boots - took a hand. Majoro did his hamstring in training and Ndoro secured his place.

He had a half-chance early on, then Kaizer Chiefs took over and hope began to fade. For 77 minutes, we suffered out way through the usual Soweto Derby boredom with an unusually sparse crowd.

Until the 77th minute. Mpho Makola put through a lovely ball which split the AmaKhosi’s makeshift defence. Good ball, but bouncing awkwardly. Ndoro brought it down in an instant, and to general hysteria, lashed the first goal past Reyaad Pieterse.

Five minutes later, he was at it again, banging in a laid-off free-kick low past Pieterse, bouncing in to the far corner. GAME OVER, though Ndoro produced a final curling shot just beyond the angle as he chased the fabled Soweto Derby hat-trick.

Afterwards, crowned Man of the Match with a hair-style he admits takes three hours to compose, Ndoro oozed: “That was my first Soweto Derby and I got two goals. That’s something you have to admire! I want to continue doing that, and not just in the derbies.

“Second half we wanted that one goal and we got it. That goal boosted us and helped us to get another one. I was pleased with it. Control, shoot, score.”

Tinkler explained Ndoro’s long-term exclusion by saying: “Tendai’s work-rate needed to increase. We’re a team in which everybody needs to work, and we can see he is doing that now.”

Then: “The way he expresses himself is important. We know Tendai has great ability in front of goal, when he gets the opportunity he must shoot because we know that nine out of 10 times he will hit the back of the net.”

Which rather begs the question: why didn’t we see more of him earlier in the season?

SEXWALE'S WITHDRAWAL METHOD: how billionaire Tokyo failed to fly the flag for South Africa (take note, Mr Sports Minister)

Falling short: Tokyo Sexwale with Mbalula Fikile and pals
at the Balon d'Or awards... apparently on the campaign trail

THERE are times when an e-mail drops from a person in authority and you just can't grasp how this bloke actually got the job. When you read the words of somebody who should know better and wonder if he actually knows ANYTHING about his role. Or life in general.

Friday was one of those days. This is, word for word, the extraordinary statement I received from South Africa’s Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula with regard to Tokyo Sexwale’s aborted bit for the FIFA Presidency on Friday.

“In the aftermath of the election of FIFA President yesterday, we take our hats off to one of our own, Tokyo Sexwale, who fought a good fight and stood head and shoulders with the Titans of world football.  We are deeply encouraged that as a country we have produced capable leadership who have the tenacity, the stature and the capacity to contest leadership roles such as the one for FIFA President.  

“Tokyo Sexwale represented us well, carrying the South African flag high among the nations of the world.  He may not have won the election of FIFA President, but he won the race as a capable leader whose magnanimity will continue to do us proud for generations to come.  He gave us a voice and made us count as a country and as a continent.  We may not have won the FIFA Presidency this time around, but Africa’s moment to lead world football will come.

“Our heartfelt congratulations to Gianni Infantino, the new President of FIFA.  He assumes the mettle at a time world football is desperate for leadership that is able to steer the ship through troubled waters.  We have no doubt that Gianni Infantino is the man for the job, and has the skill, the staying power and the capacity to take FIFA to new heights and restore its dignity.  His humility and track record gives us comfort that world football has entered a new era full of hope and promise for a better tomorrow.”

Read the above, you might think the billionaire Sexwale campaigned like a US Presidential candidate, visited all our African neighbours to thank them for their nominations, and came within a whisker of becoming the most important man in world football.

But of course, he didn’t. Though right up to Thursday night, Tokyo was telling us how brave he was, how he’d battle on despite a lack of support at home and in Africa, that he would DO THE RIGHT THING and test the favour of the 207 voting nations.

But no. Much as he has in the past, when push came to shove for a presidential role, Sexwale ran for the hills, leaving his supporters red-faced and confounded.

Sexwale left it UNTIL HIS FINAL SPEECH to the extraordinary FIFA congress to drop his bombshell. He gave a measured, well-prepared chat, relaxed, almost slouched. He listed his campaign promises - mostly revolving around sponsorship and footballing justice for Africa - before suddenly revealing “My campaign ends here, good luck to the other four candidates.”

It was a bombshell. A last-minute capitulation. Perhaps Sexwale had been hoping for another round of pre-election arrests in Geneva, like the last FIFA presidential election. Or maybe he suddenly realised, even as the would-be emperor faced his footballing jury, that HE HAD NOT CLOTHES.

Whatever the reason, a few hours after promising he would run, Sexwale chickened out.

So no, Mr Razzmatazz, Sexwale DID NOT “fight a good fight”, he DID NOT “stand head and shoulders with the Titans of world football”, he took the coward’s way out and refused to risk that first round of voting.

I guess by then he had realised he might actually poll NO VOTES at all. Mbalula talks of “a capable leader” who will “make us proud for generations to come”. His statement actually reads like the Sports Minister didn’t realise the only African candidate had withdrawn at the last minute, making a mockery of our continent.

I can only imagine Mbalula was trying to justify the trip to the Balon d'Or awards he made with Sexwale a month ago, where he backed Sexwale all the way. Or justify some other hidden motivation to pat Tokyo on the back.

Ultimately, Sexwale DID NOT fly the South African flag. He ripped it down and ran off with it fluttering between his legs. And no, he DID NOT “have the tenacity, the stature and capacity to contest leadership roles”. He WITHDREW BEFORE THE CONTEST.

Like the brave outsider in the 100m sprint against the taller, faster guys at school, you have to get to the start gun and face the ignominy of trailing in 10m adrift. You can't walk away. That's just not right.

Unlike Jerome Champagne - the Frenchman who polled just seven votes in the first round - and Prince Ali of Jordan, Sexwale thus had NO VOTES to offer eventual winner Gianni Infantino in the decisive second round of voting.

There is an assumption Sexwale will be given a major role in Infantino’s regime because the Italian-Swiss candidate visited Robben Island with the former political prisoner last week. But given the horse-trading that went on with Champagne and Prince Ali between the two rounds of voting in Geneva on Friday, it’s far more likely other people, those who actually understand FIFA and fought to the finish, will have moved ahead of Sexwale.

But in the end, we have to hope Sexwale will gain some kind of foothold in the footballing kingdom under Infantino. Africa desperately needs somebody more credible than CAF’s Issa Hayatou, 69, who guided our African brothers to back the humbled Sheikh Salman.

Quite why a billionaire would want a support role in football administration I can’t tell you. He seems very busy buying up mines further north, amid some controversy. And why Infantino would want him after his craven retreat is hard to fathom.

But we live in hope. Perhaps Sexwale, in a position of power, can do something about that lingering 2010 match-fixing scandal, or allow Danny Jordaan and Irvin Khoza to travel beyond our borders in the wake of the FBI investigation in to Jack Warner’s magically disappearing $10m (R160m) “African Diaspora Fund”.

He could also sort out the R350m FIFA World Cup legacy cash, which our grass-roots so desperately needs. We might hope for somebody high up in the world body to provide a more democratic, better-run African Federation, where African Champions League opponents turn up on time.

Better yet, why not run for CAF president Mr Sexwale? After Polokwane 2007 and Geneva 2016, you may actually get to reach the voting phase. Then Mbalula will, presumably, wheel out the red carpet.

SEXWALE'S FIFA PRESIDENTIAL BID: Even an earth-quake won't save Tokyo on Friday

Just good friends: Blatter and Sexwale

SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL will receive yet another wake-up call on Friday in Zurich. That’s when Tokyo Sexwale, despite his post-1994 millions and impeccable anti-Apartheid credentials, will embarrass the Rainbow Nation at the FIFA presidential elections.

The latest? Reports of a visit to Robben Island with Sexwale escorting rival - and one of the favourites - Gianni Infantino around his old prison off Cape Town. It's a curious game he's playing.

It's tempting to call the hastily-arranged trip a "get out of jail free card" and it may lead to Sexwale backing out of the race and telling his supporters - if there are any - to back Infantino.

Apparently Sexwale invited the other three presidential candidates too... but they were "too busy" to make the short boat trip to a grim little island offering world-wide recognition.

It’s not as if such last-minute, chaotic scenarios are rare in South African football. Having gained one point at AFCON 2015 and facing non-qualification for AFCON 2017, we should be asking serious questions about our national coach Shakes Mashaba.

Just last week I was told the story of an agent with close links to Mashaba offering an NFD goalkeeper “an automatic spot in the Rio Olympic squad” if he signed over his life.

We could wake up and ask about how the PSL can let an historic club like Moroka Swallows crumble in to nothing. Or we could arise from our slumbers and question the complete lack of crowd figures, the dodgy refs and the failure in CAF competitions too.

But SAFA, with their president doubling as the mayor of Port Elizabeth, will not act. We’ll go in to the World Cup qualifying draw after AFCON failure with Mashaba and his so-called Technical Director Neil Tovey still whittering on about “needing 4 points against Cameroon” when everyone knows we need six.

But what are we to expect? This is the same SAFA who endorsed Sexwale’s presidential bid. Their Communications Director called himself “SexwaleFan” on twitter for a few weeks, everyone flew out to the Balon D’Or and paraded about with Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, spending millions on a few publicity shots.

But within a fortnight, the grand scenario of an African head of football was collapsing. Dominic Sexwale got rid of his twitter handle and told us: “We are worried about Sexwale’s lacklustre campaign, he doesn’t follow advice”.

CAF, with their president Issa Hayatou doubling as interim FIFA president, decided to back the highly-questionable Sheikh Salman and even SAFA were questioning the wisdom of supporting the only African candidate. The  governing ANC, unsure of how this all works, are apparently insisting SAFA vote for Sexwale. Or is that just Mbalula talking through his wallet?

Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, three of the five nominees needed to get Tokyo to the starting line, have all expressed doubts about Sexwale’s campaign, which centred on international shirt sponsorship and voting deals with foreign power blocs. No mention of corruption. 

On Friday, Sepp Blatter won’t be standing for the first time in 22 years. Michel Platini, originally the natural successor, and the oily Jerome Valcke - who has South African citizenship and joint-control of our World Cup legacy fund - will be absent too. All three are banned from football activities by the shadowy ethics committee in the wake of the FBI’s exposure of FIFA’s corruption.

This “emergency election” offers little in the way of hope. It’s simply an attempt to stop football’s deeply-corrupt governing body from crumbling to dust with controversial World Cups in Russia and Qatar coming up.

Incredibly, Sexwale has managed to make himself the rank outsider among five candidates in a matter of weeks, Officially, the odds put him at 66-1 but in truth he’ll be lucky to pull more than two or three crosses next to his oft-mispronounced name.

Just nine months ago, with the FBI closing in, SAFA saw fit to send PSL chairman Irvin Khoza up ahead of Jordaan to vote for the disgraced Blatter, even as we digested the enormity of the recently-revealed $10m Africa Diaspora Fund. 

On Friday, it will be no different. Don’t expect anybody to vote for the good of football. Sheikh Salman al Khalifa, the 50-year-old from Bahrain with allegations of torture to deal with, is the unlikely favourite with most bookmakers. He runs the Asian Federation and has apparently secured Africa’s 54 votes.

Gianni Infantino is rated second favourite as he looks to keep the FIFA Presidency in Swiss hands. Once aligned with Platini, he appears to have most of the CONMEBOL and UEFA votes. The visit to Robben Island clearly shows he's desperate for a couple of CAF votes too.

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein is third on Friday’s starting grid. Aged just 40, he’s the third son of Jordan’s late King Hussein and is apparently directly descended from the prophet Muhammed after 43 generations.

In the 2015 FIFA presidential election last May, plucky Prince Ali lost 133-73 to Blatter, and with none of the major federations  backing him this time, he’ll be lucky to get close to that this time, though personally, I think he’s the only candidate worth voting for.

Jerome Champagne, yet another candidate with a fancy name, has nearly as much chance as Sexwale of reaching double figures.

Though he has the backing of a certain elderly Brazilian named Pele, Champagne was Blatter’s campaign manager in 2002 but his “reforming agenda” is apparently just as unpopular now as it was then.

Which leaves us with Sexwale. A man with no history of football administration and beyond a few dusty kickabouts whilst in jail, no real link to the global game other than being Blatter’s right hand man on issues of racism.

The questions about how Sexwale rocketed in to political and economic stratosphere so quickly after 1994 have already begun.  They’ll subside when he loses on Friday. He ignored Africa in his bid and, in turn, Africa is ignoring him apart from Ghana’s FA chairman Kwesi Nyantakyi taking time to say: “Even I’m more competent than Sexwale.”

As in football, as in life. SAFA managed to back the one candidate doomed to failure. Yet another wake-up call for a giant in a coma. Another reason to ask: who actually runs South African football… and why?


BACKGROUND READING: Evelyn Groenink on Tokyo Sexwale. Threats, assassinations, arms deals. It's unbelievable stuff.
https://www.zammagazine.com/chronicle/chronicle-16/288-the-many-truths-of-tokyo-sexwale

THE BLAME GAME: Tokyo Sexwale's FIFA presidential bid is dead in the water, but WHO is at fault?

Setting a president: Blatter and Sexwale

TRY as I might, I can find no South African pride in the tale of Tokyo Sexwale's failed FIFA presidential bid. What should have been a patriotic cause worth singing about has become an excruciating embarrassment for our nation and our game.

In a world where money talks, the billionaire’s reputation and considerable funds were unable to persuade Issa Hayatou and Confederation of African Football to vote for the only African candidate.

But then, did anyone ever expect CAF to support a South African? They weren't even all that positive about the 2010 World Cup if the voter records are to be believed.

Imprisoned with Nelson Mandela - they played football together on Robben Island - Sexwale rose quickly in post-1994 South Africa. He popped in and out of government a couple of times at cabinet level and was embroiled in a few shenanigans around the time of then-president Thabo Mbeki’s demise.

I won’t go in to that. Nor is it worth debating his rise to billionaire status with profitable business dealings in Guinea, his acrimonious divorce, his trust funds or his connections with Sepp Blatter, the man FIFA are trying so hard to write out of their history.

We’ll let all that slide. Right from the start of Sexwale’s bid, there was a feeling his surname was his strongest point in a field which included an exotic blend of Champagne, Infantino, Salman and Bility.

The problem is simple. Tokyo Sexwale has NEVER been a football man. Sure, there were the island kickabouts, but I can find little trace of his boot-prints in South African football history. A sponsorship here, a statement against racism there.

Blatter, typically clumsy on football racism, used Sexwale shamelessly in an attempt to alter his image as an old, corrupt Swiss conservative.

It worked too. Sexwale’s name and reputation did FIFA no harm on the anti-racism front. They even sent Sexwale to Israel to calm the Palestinian persecution on the football field.

But all this is mere window-dressing. Fiddling around on the edge of the man.

The truth is, Sexwale has proven to be a ruthless businessman and politician. His decision to bid for FIFA leadership was taken in that spirit.

With no understanding of footballing politics in Africa, Tokyo’s spokesman went all xenophobic on the African football fixer Mamadou Gaye and though Namibia and Zimbabwe backed his bid - they were two of the rapidly disappearing five nominees - both neighbouring national Football Associations saw fit to ask why Sexwale was ignoring the locals in his grand parade to footballing omnipotence.

The classic turnabout was seen most clearly in Switzerland three weeks ago, when Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and the expensive football presenter Robert Marawa accompanied Sexwale to the Ballon D’Or presentation.

Though it was Lucas Radebe (a far better South African FIFA presidential candidate in my view) who did the talking on stage, it was Mbalula who made it clear he was backing Sexwale, just as Dominic Chimhavi and the non-travelling con-conspirator Danny Jordaan had done on SAFA’s behalf a week before.

But behind the scenes, the charade was slowly falling apart. Chimhavi, the SAFA communications director, came out publicly with a Sexwale rebuke along the lines of “he is not taking our advice”  and accusing Tokyo of “a lacklustre campaign”.

I’ve discussed this seminal moment in Sexwale’s campaign with Chimhavi. Why was it not done in private? Why the big disrespect? Why did Dominic himself change his Twitter name from “Sexwale for President” back to his old name?

What is clear is this: somewhere along the line, Sexwale lost sight of his goal. Instead of being the first proud African to take on the giants of football, he was cruising around talking to the elite, ignoring his roots.

But when the German FA, early Sexwale supporters, decided to support Infantino, the writing was on the wall.

Sexwale left for Rwanda on Friday to join the CAF high-ups living it up at CHAN in Kigali. Like Bafana Bafana, he wasn’t qualified for that particular situation.

Hayatou and CAF dismissed Sexwale out of hand. They went for Sheikh Salman. Those 55 priceless African votes would go to an Asian.

On the social networks, South Africans railed against Hayatou and CAF, on the very day one of our four PSL representatives Ajax Cape Town had back out of the Confederations Cup.

I have written about the bias against South Africa by the Francophile northern nations. Have a squint at this http://neal-collins.blogspot.co.za/2013/04/the-shocking-truth-about-caf-danny.html It keys in neatly with the Arabic stronghold, where slavery is permitted but South Africans aren’t.

But on this particular subject, what did we expect? Sexwale hardly left with a glowing endorsement from the ANC or SAFA. Nobody came out with last minute backing, only a few vague whispers about “making deals” to keep him in the race.

We castigate Hayatou for being nearly 70 and in charge of African football since 1988, but Irvin Khoza, the man who REALLY runs South African football, is 68 and has been in charge of our declining PSL since 1992.

These men are set in their ways. Their decisions, often dictated by finance rather than football, cannot be disputed. Ask Musa Bility about his still-born campaign.

Without genuine, whole-hearted backing from South Africa, Sexwale’s millions weren’t going to help. CAF hardly need an excuse to keep those from the tip of Africa out of power.

But rather than blaming Hayatou and CAF for this embarrassment - if Sexwale doesn’t withdraw as CAF said he had, he may end up with no votes at all - we should look long and hard at how this all started.

SAFA and the ANC saw Sexwale as the man who could lift the cloud of suspicion hanging over our nation: The 2010 match-fixing (Ace Kika, banned for 6 years, didn’t act alone) and the $10m Africa Diaspora fund (which goes right to the top of South Africa’s power structure) used to leverage votes for hosting World Cup 2010.

But when the going got tough, we turned our back on our own man. In public and behind the scenes. Sexwale supporters disappeared like rats from a sinking ship.

Before we attack CAF, we should look at our own structures. Our own decisions. If Sexwale’s abortive bid for FIFA president encourages change at SAFA, it will have done some good. Otherwise, considerable time and money have been utterly wasted on a campaign that was NEVER going to succeed.