It’s happening again, it’s happening again!
On May 3, 2024, the duo Ria Ledwaba and Solly Mohlebeng will be squaring off with SAFA in court, again! This is an appeal based on the judgment released on January 9, 2024, that found in favor of SAFA.
From the Solly4President, we would like to reiterate that Solly Mohlabeng is not in this battle with the sole purpose of becoming the president of SAFA, but rather, to make his contribution in fixing SAFA and taking it back into the hands of the people of South Africa.
We believe SAFA has drifted away and no longer has a governance soul. It is now a possession of a few elites who use it for purposes known only to themselves, while association football continues to suffer. There is no longer a healthy discourse within SAFA. It is either the president’s way or acrimony. Governance is broken right in front of the owners of the organization, the regions, who now have to behave like beggars just to get their grants paid.
We still maintain that from the Congress that was convened in March 2022 up to the Congress that was held on the 25th of June 2022, governance was badly broken, and disputes relating to that must be ventilated in the proper avenues made possible by the SAFA Statutes. The statutes allow even a man on the street to dispute any matter connected to football, let alone the President of SAFA Tshwane and the former President of SAFA. Why opt to spend millions to block their dispute resolution request?
A reasonable man (an analogy used in law to exemplify the law from the perspective of a normal person) would allow the dispute resolution process to unfold to amicably and transparently conclude on the matter. He would not expend energy, time, and money to block such a dispute resolution request.
From the application, the court of the first instance was requested to look into this and see if SAFA is within reason to block the dispute resolution process made possible by its statutes. However, the high court judge decided to delve into the merits of the dispute itself and even rushed to narrowly associate the court application with the disputes about the outcomes of the election. He even rushed to take an opportunity to brandish Ms. Ledwaba and Mr. Mohlebeng as sore losers.
At the appeal on May 3, we are looking forward to seeing an ‘as sober as a judge’ conduct in having this matter ventilated without fear, favor, or prejudice. We are not looking for an outcome that says the elections were invalid, but rather an outcome that says SAFA will refer the dispute matter to arbitration as its statutes prescribe.
As it is, no process, committee, or forum within SAFA can resolve a contentious matter amicably, fairly, and transparently, especially if that matter has to do with the president. So if the courts can do that for football, so be it. Ms. Ledwaba and Mr. Mohlabeng are not doing this for themselves or their egos. They are doing this for South African football. If they ultimately get expelled for this, well, it is a sacrifice they are willing to make for South African football. It is what, like Mandela said, they are willing to die for.
Looking forward to May 3, 2024.
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