The legal team for the South African Football Association (SAFA) has responded to allegations that its president, Danny Jordaan, received a R10 million payment from the association in 2020 without the approval of the NEC.
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SAFA lawyer Lesedi Mphahlele said in a statement that the claims were not only baseless but also deliberately misleading and, frankly, absurd. “What makes this situation even more concerning is that it appears to stem from an individual who unlawfully accessed SAFA’s financial systems, misinterpreted the data they extracted, and then disseminated it to third parties in an attempt to fabricate a false narrative,” Mphahlele said. “The financial report in question, obtained through illegal means, details all payments made to the President dating back to 2007. It spans an 18-year period during which Dr. Danny Jordaan served in multiple roles within SAFA—including CEO until 2008, head of the 2010 World Cup Bid until 2006, and CEO of the FIFA World Cup from 2006 to 2011″ Mphahlele concluded that the report includes meeting allowances and honorariums paid to all members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) over a span of more than 13 years—standard practice for members serving the organization in official capacities.
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Former SAFA media officer Namhla Mphelo who worked for SAFA for 11 years has responded to allegations claiming that she leaked information regarding a R10 million payment made to the association’s president, Danny Jordaan. Mphelo, who was recently dismissed for unauthorized access to critical information and sharing it, has denied these accusations. She has filed a case against the association with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration [CCMA] over what she describes as an unfair dismissal. She was suspended in February following accusations of dishonesty and for allegedly accessing and leaking sensitive information about the R10 million payment. She denied the allegations but was ultimately fired on 7 April 2025. Her case is set to be heard today, 20 May 2025. “The truth is, I accessed the system; it was within my rights. I was a team manager at the time, [with the] Under 17 girls who went to Gabon for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” she said. “So, I did access the system, so that part is very true. The unauthorized part is not true, and the sharing with an NEC member is not true. I had the right in my means as the media officer to be looking into things that I did look into,” she added. “I think it was sensitive information that didn’t sit comfortably with the president that was shared on a WhatsApp group. But it did not come from me. I want to emphasize that part. Even the NEC member who said that he sent the staff admitted to the CEO before I went for DC and that information was disregarded going into my DC.”
Bongi Sikelo 