So, the infamous “Buffalo” has requested some feedback, and here it is…
It is no real secret that one of the primary reasons why officials and delegates of the South African Football Association (Safa) – from national down to regional – are refusing to relinquish power, is because the 2026 World Cup to be hosted across countries: Canada, Mexico and USA, is around the corner – and it’s crystal that no one who want to miss this boat as the financial gain and perks are just too good to pass on!
The country and the rest of world have by now already seen the disgraceful scenes where fisticuffs broke out at the NEC meeting at Safa House on Saturday.
Needless to say, one can draw striking parallels between the fracas on Saturday to that which played out at Safa Cape Town Electoral Committee meeting at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Sunday with th its president, Bennett “The Buffalo” Bailey at the centre of controversy yet again!
Now, in all fairness, although the delegates locally were not embroiled in physical altercations, the deception and manipulation were still the order of the day.
So, to cut to this chase, this is how things played out in a nutshell…
For contect sake, bear in mind that the Langa LFA did everything in its power to democratise the region’s re-election of Electoral Committee which the managed to do.
It must also be noted that the South Peninsula LFA rocked up late and they were discarded and not allowed access to vote which is another indication of foul play.
There was a caucus underway already at 08:30 on Sunday where the Buffalo called 20 LFA’s to a meeting and they were handed a list of people to vote for. Now, not most, or some, but ALL the high profile and credible candidates like Adv. Rod Solomons, Prof David Maralack, Beresford Williams (nominated by the Metropolitan LFA) as well as Adv. Charles Simon and football stalwart Goolam Allie, nominated by the Langa LFA – These names speak for themselves, independent thinking nominees who were suddenly excluded from the list handed to the 20 LFA’s.
This meant that all 20 voted in favour of the list given to them. Doesn’t this resembles “state capture” as no discussion on the nominations took place – just blind voting.
Now, No Bones with Jones became aware that at least one nominee was personally approached by the Bailey …. “I have been asked by Bennett Bailey to serve on the SAFA CT Electoral Committee.” Is this is undermining the democratic processes and more importantly, it is highly irregular and unconstitutional.
In football terms it’s like Bailey wanted to pick the referees himself for a match he was involved in.
