Gayton McKenzie: I wanted Danny Jordaan to resign if Bafana didn’t qualify for the Fifa World Cup
Gayton McKenzie claims he pressured SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan to resign if Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the Fifa World Cup, a statement now difficult to verify as Bafana has successfully qualified. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie would have the public believe that if Bafana Bafana didn’t qualify for the Fifa World Cup, he would have forced SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan to resign.
It sounds pretty rich coming from McKenzie now that Bafana actually achieved the feat, and it would be difficult to prove if he actually said it to Jordaan or not. Whether or not he could actually enforce that, is another story.
McKenzie was one of the first VIPs on the pitch last week after Bafana booked their ticket to the World Cup. He was seen celebrating wildly in front of a TV camera, and for me it left a bad taste in my mouth that the visuals cut from the players and Bafana coaching staff celebrating to a politician, which seemed like a thinly veiled attempt to share in the credit for qualifying.
Now, McKenzie maintains he had taken a hard stance with Jordaan prior to Bafana finishing top of their group.
McKenzie Praises Safa and Addresses World Cup Qualification Challenges
“Firstly, I need to thank Safa for keeping their word,” McKenzie said.
“I met with Danny Jordaan when I first became minister. I said to Danny, here are the two things: I want us to qualify for the World Cup, and if not, you must resign. He shook my hand and said he would deliver and he did. What more do people want me to say now?” he told SportsBoom.co.za.
McKenzie has also been vocal about the Teboho Mokoena blunder that nearly cost Bafana their place at the World Cup. Though his intentions were good, Fifa strictly prohibits government interference in the country’s footballing body (Safa) which can lead to a ban from international football.
In fact, McKenzie wrote a letter to Fifa last week to find out answers about the way in which Bafana were docked points in their qualifying campaign.
That came after Jordaan said the matter was already closed. That means McKenzie would have been treading on thin ice, and it would probably be best he did not pursue the matter any further with Fifa unless he wants to risk Bafana being banned.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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