Black Leopards president David Thidiela has called on president Cyril Ramaphosa to institute a Madlanga Commission of inquiry into the Premier Soccer League [PSL], claiming the domestic game is fundamentally broken.
Thidiela was speaking during a media briefing at The Venue in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 6 August 2026.
The Lidoda Duvha management had convened members of the media to provide an official update regarding their ongoing legal battle to preserve their National First Division status.
Leopards suffered relegation to the SAFA ABC Motsepe League at the end of the 2025/26 Motsepe Foundation Championship campaign. This marked their second relegation in three years, having previously returned to the professional ranks by purchasing the status of Cape Town All Stars.
BLACK LEOPARDS TAKE RELEGATION FIGHT TO CAS
The Limpopo-based outfit remains embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with both the PSL and the South African Football Association [SAFA] over what they deem unfair treatment regarding player registrations.
Leopards were forced to play their opening four fixtures of the 2025/26 season without their full squad after registration cards for several new signings were allegedly withheld by the league body.
After receiving adverse rulings from both the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber [DRC] and SAFA Arbitration, Leopards sought relief from the Johannesburg High Court. However, the application was struck off the roll due to a perceived lack of urgency.
The club has now officially escalated the matter to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Addressing reporters in Melrose Arch, an outspoken Thidiela insisted that domestic football governance requires an independent, judicial-style investigation to restore integrity.
“I don’t know where our league is going. I think it needs the Madlanga Commission,” Thidiela said. “If the Madlanga Commission can do what they are doing now, [football] will go back to where it is supposed to be. I think SAFA is also suffering because of us. We think we know better than everybody in football, and until that changes, nothing will improve.”
‘WE NEED A MADLANGA COMMISSION IN FOOTBALL’ – THIDIELA
Thidiela’s call for a Madlanga Commission isn’t just throwaway rhetoric—it’s a direct reference to one of the country’s most prominent legal probes.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was established to probe the conduct, investigations, and prosecutions handled by the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption [IDAC] regarding senior crime intelligence officials.
Centred on exposing political interference, procedural irregularities, and internal controversies within the state’s criminal justice system, Thidiela is drawing a bold parallel—insisting SA football requires the exact same level of aggressive, independent judicial scrutiny to clean out administrative decay.
Thidiela further urged South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to institute a formal inquiry into the administration and officiating standards governing the local game.
“I think the State president has to get involved in this football because it belongs to all of us—we have all invested,” Thidiela added. “If we get that, I think football will get back to where it belongs.
“Referees are the owners of this league. Where do you report them? I am not saying there were no issues with referees in the past, but not like what is happening now.
“Something is wrong with us, and we need introspection. Hence I am saying a Madlanga Commission, if the State president will approve, will help us. It is not only Black Leopards who are being pushed out or who are going to be kicked out of football.”
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