AmaZulu FC president Sandile Zungu has laid out a detailed blueprint for what he would bring to the table if elected SAFA president, driven by the belief that South African football is currently at its “lowest”.
Usuthu’s owner is campaigning for the organisation’s elections to be held in September, hoping the vote will present him with an opportunity to help elevate South African football.
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Zungu says several factors have inspired his decision to run for the presidency.
While acknowledging Bafana Bafana’s recent success, he believes the overall state of football in the country is declining and insists he can do a better job.
He argues that school football is virtually non-existent and says revitalising it would be one of his priorities. He also believes women’s football requires greater investment and support to accelerate its development.
‘I think I can make difference there’
“There are many inspirations [behind my desire for SAFA Presidency], let’s start with the negative development that inspires me to say I can do better,” said Zungu.
“Soccer is at its lowest, in my opinion, notwithstanding the performance of Bafana in the last, or in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, but if you look at various levels that make up the development of soccer, we are practically dysfunctional, if not dead.
“Take school soccer, it’s non-existent. Women’s soccer is coming along nicely, but it can do much better. And I think we need to correct that, we need to go on a different growth trajectory, and I think I can make a difference there.”
‘I have networks to bring private sector’
Zungu also believes football should play a far greater role in the country’s economy, creating millions of jobs rather than just thousands or hundreds, and says he has plans to help unlock that potential.
Most importantly, he is confident his extensive business network can attract greater private-sector investment into football.
He believes that commercial backing would support a range of initiatives, chief among them the establishment of world-class high-performance centres in every province to cater for the country’s key football development needs.
“On the positive side, the economy, called the sports economy, employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa. It can employ millions,” he continued.
“Soccer needs to play its part as the biggest sporting code in the country.
“And my belief is that one, we need to govern soccer correctly, so that we can get commercial interests to come closer.
“The commercial interests give us money to roll out these development programmes that are much needed at a regional level.
“And I believe I have the gravitas, I have the credentials, I’ve got the experience, I’ve got the networks to bring private sector closer to soccer for the benefit of the regions, for the benefit of the athletes, for the benefit of novel projects that include, for example, the building of high-performance centres in all the provinces, world-class high-performance centres in all the provinces, to service the main soccer needs.”
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