SAFA presidential candidate Sandile Zungu says if elected to power, the local football mother body will be guided by CAF regarding the position to take on embattled FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
This comes as the FIFA boss is under fire for the unpopular FIFA Forward Enterprise [FFE] proposal to sell a 20 percent commercial stake of the World Cup to private equity firms. Infantino was accused of violating governance procedures by failing to properly consult the FIFA Council on the proposal.
The controversial plan was, however, withdrawn after it drew the ire of the game’s global community and sparked calls for the world football governing boss to step down. Also, the controversial decision to rescind USA star Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Last 32 match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup fell right on Infantino’s doorstep.
Leading the revolt against the Swiss-Italian is UEFA, arguably the most powerful FIFA bloc. UEFA is preparing to lodge a criminal complaint against Infantino over the scrapped FFE proposal while accusing him of “criminal mismanagement.”
UEFA and its member associations’ disapproval of Infantino’s leadership has also led the European Parliament to call on FIFA’s independent ethics committee to conduct an ethics probe into Infantino.
SANDILE ZUNGU ANSWERS THE BIG GIANNI INFANTINO QUESTION
While the FIFA head is under fire, CAF has come out strongly in support of Infantino. The continental football body’s president, Patrice Motsepe, is on record saying that, “I personally support Infantino… he is loyal to Africa.”
Asked by FARPost what SAFA’s stance would be on Infantino if he were voted in to succeed Danny Jordaan, Zungu said he would take a cue from CAF. The AmaZulu chairman is contesting to be SAFA president in Saturday’s ballot, pitting him against Jordaan, who is seeking a fourth term.
“When you are a leader of an association, you must also agree to be led. Therefore, on the question of Infantino, it’s not about me and my personal attitude,” Zungu responded to FARPost.
“It’s about the attitude of SAFA, what they think about this question. But most importantly, as SAFA will be a member of CAF, the worst thing that we could do is to define ourselves outside CAF. We cannot do that, and we shouldn’t do that.
“So we will take our cue from our membership of CAF; what does CAF say. If we were to influence a stance contrary to the stance they hold today, it becomes a question.
“But I doubt that we will have a stance that is different to what CAF views. All relationships and attitudes towards relationships evolve, influenced by factors on the ground.
“Don’t expect any difference from us. We will be a hegemony-abiding member of CAF on matters of such.”
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