CAPE TOWN – The South African Football Association (SAFA) has assured ABC Motsepe League clubs (Second Division) that they will receive outstanding payments.
On Friday, a letter was circulated to the Minister of Sport, SAFA officials and SAFA regions. The letter outlines grievances mainly around non-payment of various allowances which by this time should have been paid out to clubs. Instead, it was still outstanding.
The letter also tells of a far-fetched plan to migrate from Safa, the country's football federation, to the National Soccer League which runs South Africa's professional leagues (Premier Soccer League and First Division League - the GladAfrica Championship).
There is no evidence of who was the author of the letter but Dominic Chimhavi, SAFA's head of communication, believes the document was the work of "naughty" individuals who were bent on painting the national federation in a bad light.
Chimhavi responded: "SAFA CFO (chief finance officer) Gronie Hluyo is busy fixing the outstanding payments which were a result of our cash flow problems.
"He has undertaken to pay clubs who have yet to receive their monies."
Chimhavi shot down talk of Second Division clubs joining a professional organisation. He said it would result in “an illegal” structure.
"Talking of being administered by NSL is silly on the part of the authors of that document.
"All over the world, amateur football is administered by the FA (the country's national football controlling body) and no one else.
"The NSL which is a Special Member of SAFA looks after professional football and all development and amateur football fall within the domain of the FA."
Chimhavi added that football in South Africa was organised in keeping with the dictates of FIFA (International Federation of Association Football). Any deviation would result in a national federation falling foul of FIFA. What is proposed in the document will be deemed illegal.
The document has been forwarded to FIFA.
Late yesterday afternoon Chimhavi said Safa have now established the source of the document and will deal with the people responsible for its drafting and dissemination.
"We have identified the group who authored this document and once we finalize our investigations, drastic action will be taken against these individuals."
The ABC Motsepe League is the current second division and overall third tier of South African football.
The competition features 144 teams in total, divided into nine divisions which are located in the nine geo-political provinces of South Africa.