November 14 – South African football boss Danny Jordaan has been released on bail following his arrest in a fraud probe.
On Wednesday Jordaan, the president of the South African Football Association (Safa), was arrested by local police over allegations he misappropriated the governing body’s money, but a court granted him bail for 20,000 rand ($1,110). The court has restricted his travel movements.
Jordaan and his co-defendants – Safa’s chief of finance Gronie Hluyo and a 46-year-old businessman – have been warned to have no contact with the 19 potential state witnesses who could testify against the trio.
Jordaan is accused of using about R1.3 million ($72,372) of South African Football Association (SAFA) funds to hire a PR firm and a private security company for his personal benefit. He has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in court.
“The allegations are that between 2014 and 2018, the president of Safa used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company without authorisation from the Safa board,” said Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale.
“Warrants… issued for the arrest of two prominent South African Football Association executive officers, aged 73 and 55, together with a 46-year-old businessman, were executed this morning, 13 November 2024, following an intensive investigation by the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation based in Johannesburg into allegations of R1.3-million fraud and theft.”
Safa had already been under fire after an anonymous document surfaced, laying bare institutional chaos at the governing body as well as how the Motsepe foundation had to step in over Banyana Banyana’s remuneration ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The organisation sought to dispel these accusations and in a press conference on November 8, Tankiso Modipa, head of Safa’s safety and security protocol committee, said, as quoted by South African media: “We have noted that there are certain individuals who are continuing to damage the Safa brand, and they are using certain media platforms to wage this war and smear the names and reputations of our members. The campaign has noticeably picked up in the last few weeks and enough is enough.”
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