Parliament, Thursday, 16 June 2022 – The Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities supports Ms Ria Ledwaba’s candidacy to serve as President of the South African Football Association (SAFA). SAFA elections are scheduled to take place on 25 June 2022.
The committee believes that the time has come for a female SAFA president, as the organisation is a national association, not an association of men only, the committee said. The committee said Ms Ledwaba is a fitting candidate to liberate SAFA from male domination and become an agent for development. Furthermore, the committee called on SAFA to become a catalyst for social cohesion and to push back the frontiers of gender-based violence and sexist stereotypes.
Ms Ledwaba is currently serving as a SAFA Vice-President and has told her supporters that her candidacy for the role of President is based on the need for meaningful change at SAFA. She wants to see more focus on the 52 SAFA regions where grassroots talent is based and where the future of South African soccer lies.
She also highlighted the need for the investment of more resources at grassroot level and the growth of school soccer. She called on the legends of the game, who rose up through the ranks of township and rural school soccer, to assist in this endeavor. She said universities should also play more of a role in nurturing and developing soccer talent. To unleash soccer’s potential in the regions, Ms Ledwaba said service level agreements must be signed, and they must be properly funded and equipped with quality soccer facilities, including playing fields.
The committee believes that Ms Ledwaba is a people-focused leader, with a vision and activism to bring about real and meaningful change to transform SAFA into a people’s association.
The committee Chairperson, Ms Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba said the committee is optimistic that, under Ms Ledwaba’s leadership and with her wisdom and rich experience in soccer administration, SAFA will become “a new and a non-sexist South African brand of soccer, a beacon of hope and a symbol of unity”.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WOMEN, YOUTH AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, MS NONHLANHLA NCUBE-NDABA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Yoliswa Landu (Ms)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 497 4694
E-mail: ylandu@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour