SOWETAN | Safa must clean up its house, now

The decision by the SA Football Association (Safa) to extend the contract of recently retired Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka by another month is both understandable and troubling.

It is understandable that Tseka, whose contract ended at the end of July after the World Cup, has been given time to complete his outstanding administrative responsibilities. According to Safa, Tseka requested an extension until the end of August to account for the R700,000 daily sundries he managed for the national team during the tournament.

But the World Cup ended on July 19, by which time Bafana had already been eliminated. It is therefore reasonable to ask why the accounting could not have been completed by July 31, when his contract expired.

More importantly, the extension raises questions about whether Tseka will continue receiving his salary and other benefits. Those questions, however, pale in comparison to the bigger issue: why was he allowed to keep the job for so long in the first place?

Tseka’s tenure has been marked by serious administrative blunders. The most notorious was his failure to alert the technical team that Teboho Mokoena had been suspended for accumulated yellow cards, resulting in the midfielder being fielded against Lesotho. Fifa subsequently docked Bafana three points, putting their World Cup qualification campaign under unnecessary pressure.

Such an error should have prompted serious accountability. Instead, Tseka remained in a position of considerable responsibility.

This feeds a broader perception that Safa’s problems are not merely administrative but structural. Under Danny Jordaan as its president, the organisation has repeatedly been embroiled in internal battles and controversies, raising questions about leadership, governance and accountability.

There is also a growing perception that officials survive because of political and factional loyalties rather than performance. If Tseka’s continued tenure was influenced by his perceived alignment with Jordaan, as has been suggested, that would be deeply troubling.

Parliamentary portfolio committee member Matsholo Lisbet Mmolotsane has gone further, accusing Safa executives of “protecting one another” and calling for a forensic investigation.

Those allegations cannot simply be dismissed. Safa must be prepared to be subject to scrutiny and to account for how it manages public resources and the country’s national teams.

SA football cannot aspire to sustained international success while its governing body is consumed by internal strife and questions about accountability.