City Press Soccer Annual ’88 Sanfa was built on a solid founda­ • THE FOOTBALL COUNCIL OF SOUTH AFRICA----- tion and 1 believe it will still be around long after the splinter groups have Meshack Motloung disappeared. THE Football Council of South The council’s affairs in 1986 and As far as the South African Soc­ Africa has been deadlocked in a con­ 1987 were largely in in the hands of cer Academy Trust is concerned, it is stitutional dispute since July 1982 Safa’s president, Donny Gilmour, common knowledge that it is the when a rebel tour by foreign players it who has been secretary of the council. brainchild of Sasa and the NSL and helped arrange was aborted after a The council did not hold annual was formed around those organisa­ few games. general meetings in 1986 and 1987. tions. I don’t see any logic in forming Its three constituent members are Sanfa and Fasa on the one hand, it as it was formed and then inviting the Football Association of South and Safa on the other, apparently Sanfa to serve on it. To us that won’t Africa, the South African National could not see eye to eye on several serve any purpose. Football Association and the South issues in 1987. African Football Association. Meetings reportedly went unat­ TV coverage is not a question of As in previous years, the council tended and an interim committee doing anybody any favours. It is our was, in 1987, affiliated to the South made up of Sanfa and NPSL offi­ right. Our affiliates are subscribers African National Olympic Commit­ cials, among others, was formed to run to the SABC and our teams and play­ tee and the South African Sports Fed­ ers are furious about the fact that the council until a meeting was held eration. we are denied any coverage. and its financial statements were pre­ Before the split in soccer in 1985, sented. They have taken a stand on the the council was nominally the ruling This committee’s standing was issue - they will not pay their licence body for football outside the SA challenged by Safa. fees until the issue has been re­ Soccer Federation and the other mi­ In the meantime, Fasa apparent­ solved. nor independent associations. ly approached the government to stop At the moment it is Sasa and the It was recognised as such by the grants to the council. NSL which are receiving all the bene­ government, which made small grants Disagreements related, among fits, so let their affiliates and sup­ to its affiliates. other things, to financial matters - porters renew their licences. The council’s member associ­ with allegedly unpaid loans to ations have repeatedly failed to reach Sanfa has a membership of about Sanfa and the NPSL being one of the agreement on its future. The dis­ issues. 450 000 players and I do not see why pute revolves around whether it we should be denied coverage. All The council’s assets - mainly in should be dissolved, and what pur­ the form of savings - are believed to these players refuse to align them­ pose it should serve if it continues to selves with Sasa, so it is up to the be in the region of R150 000. exist. One option that some officials authorities to put right the matter of In 1983/84 it administered a TV coverage. have considered is to disband the sponsored coaching scheme run by an council and share its money among We approached the SABC man­ English coach. Bill McGarry, but it the three assoeiations. agement properly, so we expect them has not been active since. Safa has on many occasions cam­ to respond properly. Since 1985 the council has served paigned for the council’s dissolution, We continue to hope the media no purpose in local soccer, and is con­ but that cannot happen without the will change its attitude to Sanfa and sidered a waste of time and money agreement of the other two associ­ the NPSL. Let us also enjoy the by the associations outside it. ations. publicity and exposure that is given to An attempt was made by Sanfa One issue the interim committee the NSL and Sasa. and Safa in 1983 to dissolve the coun­ of the council addressed itself to was Then let the people decide. cil and transfer its authority to the Soccer City project. Right now the public is condition­ Sanfa. It wrote to the relevant govern­ ed to believe that Sanfa is no longer in But Fasa objected on constitu­ ment authority expressing the view existence. tional grounds, saying that unanimity that the proposed new stadium was required for the council’s disso­ should be placed under the control of Sanfa was already in existence lution. a local authority or a special com­ for many years when George Thabe The member associations seemed mittee to serve all soccer. appeared on the scene. Now that he keen to revive it in 1985 because they That request is said to have been is gone the organisation must go on, believed that a united group could refused. and will go on. We do not need the sucessfully resist the expansionist uninformed criticisms of others in the A meeting of the council was aims of the Soccer Association of held in December, but it ended in dis papers. South Africa. Sanfa took a knock in 1985 that array, with heated words being ex­ But the will was not there and, changed between Fasa president would have destroyed an ordinary or­ instead, the disagreements between ganisation. But, as 1 said earlier, it David Snaier and Safa’s Donny Gil­ officials became more serious. mour. was built on solid ground. The council has been particularly The Safa officials walked out in a Most of our original teams have directionless and aimless since the res­ remained with us and many of those ignation of former Sanfa president huff. who left are gradually coming back. George Thabe in March 1986. Officials said a meeting of the It is not widely realised that Sa- Dave Marais, a former Fasa council to consider its finances and de sa’s existence was made possible by president who was the council’s vice- cide on its future would be held ear­ many mushrooming teams who president, took over as acting presi­ ly in 1988. Similar announcements were not there before the split, and by dent, but resigned late in 1986. were made in the last three years. people who had lost their principles. THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOC­ CER FEDERATION Compiled by Rodney M tshazo Postal Address: PO Box 48016, Qualbert 4 0 7 8 Physical Address: Suite 36 Junaid Cen­ tre, 4 Bond Street, Durban 4001. Telephone: (031) 305-2541/306-5827 OFFICE BEARERS President — Rama Reddy; vice-presi­ dents — Danny Jordaan and Bobs Sitha- persad; general-secretary - GK Naidoo; treasurer — Bobby Naicker; other execu­ tive committee members — Mattee See- gers and Merriman Zuma. STRUCTURE The Federation has 19 affiliates. They are: Border Soccer Board; Eastern Province Soccer Board; Central Namibia Football Association; Griqualand West Soccer Union; Kwazakhele Soccer Board; Mdantsane Soccer Board; Namaqua- land Soccer Union; Northern Natal Soc­ cer Board; North West Cape Soccer Uni­ on; Orange Free State Soccer Union; South Cape Soccer Union; Southern Na- tal-KwaZulu Soccer Board; Transvaal Soccer Board; Uitenhage and District Football Association; Western Province Football Board; South African Primary Schools' Association; South African Se­ nior Schools' Association; South African Tertiary Institutions' Soccer Association; Federation Professional League. MEMBERSHIP The SASF claims a membership of 200 000. S A S F T R U ST The federation formed a trust, which was registered in November 1986, to raise capital to finance its national com­ petitions. The trustees are Rama Reddy (chair­ man), Kevin Roman, Yusuf Lorgat, Babs Sithaperdad and Mohammed Sibda The trust fund was worth R25 000 in 1987. RIO 000 was donated by BP Sou­ thern Africa. COMPETITIONS The SASF ran two national senior competitions in 1987 and one junior tournament: D An inter-provincial tournament in two groups. The A section is run on a decentralised basis and the B section on a centralised basis n A club champions tournament. Affili­ ates also host club tournaments to which are invited clubs from other units Goalkeeper Adieb Abrahams, the SASF’s 1987 Footballer of the Year and D An under-18 tournament. the Sacos Sportsperson of the Year SOUTH AFRICAN SOCCER en to members for their their anti­ FEDERATION (SASF) apartheid commitment and their out­ Abrahams standing ability to promote sport By Rama Reddy and coaching in the community. P residen t o f SASF is the Fed’s In 1984 footballer Geofrey Ga- BORN out of a commitment in miet won the award. 1951 to play non-racial football at all Abrahams is one of the three Sasf players due to enrol for a coach­ levels and highlight sporting and so­ top star ing course in London in July 1988. cial injustices, the SASF as a people’s It was a memorable year for star He has coached juniors in the Western organisation has made significant goalkeeper Adieb Abrahams. He won Province, and has long wanted to progress. Our role has become widely the Sasfs Footballer of the Year improve his coaching knowledge and ackowledged. award and the South African Council abilities. Football, being only one aspect of on Sport (Sacos) “Sportsperson of The outstanding amateur goal­ society’s activities, cannot exist in iso­ the Year” trophy. keeper, Abrahams has played profe- lation. It must be seen to address The 28-year-old Battswood and sional soccer in the Federation Pro­ itself to the the greater issues that af­ Western Province footballer beat a fessional League.