Mmusi Maimane and the DA must be feeling that the gods are smiling on them. Just a few weeks ago, the new DA leader seemed headed for a heavy defeat in the one metropolitan council he had publicly identified as the party's next target in its long-term strategy of winning power a municipality or two at a time.Immediately after being elected as Helen Zille's successor in Port Elizabeth last month, Maimane declared that the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro - which includes the Friendly City - would be under DA control come next year's local government elections.He had good reason to believe so.story_article_left1Previous elections had shown that the governing ANC's once intimidating electoral domination in the region was evaporating. The ANC managed to get only 48.81% of the vote in Nelson Mandela Bay to the DA's 40.80% in last year's general election.With an ineffective Ben Fihla (who will be 83 on Saturday) as mayor and an ANC that was deeply split along factional lines, the metro seemed easy pickings for the DA.So much so that, with more than a year to go before the polls, the party named its newly elected federal chairman, Athol Trollip, as its mayoral candidate.Then the ANC played its trump card, recalling Fihla and replacing him with a very popular and respected figure as mayor.Danny Jordaan, the president of the South African Football Association, the man who brought the country one of its most glorious moments in hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, was now mayor.The DA's campaign seemed dead in the water long before electioneering season even started.With his impressive track record at national and international level and his history of activism in the Port Elizabeth area before 1994, Jordaan appeared to have already secured next year's victory for the ANC.But then Fifa and the FBI happened.Few would have imagined, as world soccer's biggest scandal began to break in New York and Zurich 10 days ago, that its ripple effects would be felt even in the local Windy City.block_quotes_start There is no doubt that Jordaan will have some thorny questions to answer over the coming months block_quotes_endSo far, there is no evidence conclusively implicating Jordaan or any South African football official in acts of corruption linked to the Fifa scandal.However, there is no doubt that Jordaan, former Safa president Molefi Oliphant and a number of former cabinet ministers - and even a former president - have some thorny questions to answer over the coming months.These relate mainly to the controversial awarding of $10-million (about R120-million at today's rates) to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football as a "donation" for the development of soccer in the African diaspora.The handling of this issue has been far from satisfactory - leaving South Africans with more questions than answers.In the process, Jordaan's reputation as the Mr Clean of local football has taken a knock - especially after correspondence emerged suggesting that he knew more about the saga than he let on.It may still be that Jordaan and others named in the $10-million debacle will be cleared of wrongdoing - and that investigators will eventually find that all was above board and carried out in the spirit of Pan-Africanism.But as matters stand, things are looking pretty good for Maimane and Trollip.And they are not the only ones who stand to benefit .For well over a decade Jordaan has been engaged in a protracted power struggle for control of local football with Orlando Pirates and Premier Soccer League chairman Irvin Khoza.For years Khoza had the upper hand, running the professional arm of local football through the PSL while his ally, Oliphant, presided over Safa.Even as Khoza and Jordaan successfully led South Africa's bid to host the World Cup, it was an open secret that they were in conflict.The balance of forces swung in Jordaan's favour in September 2009 when the Football Transformation Forum - led by Jordaan supporters - won the Safa elections.In September 2013, the forum succeeded in getting Jordaan elected Safa president, thereby reducing Khoza's influence in the federation.Khoza still holds one of the vice-presidencies at Safa, purely on the basis that he is the PSL chairman.The tensions between the two have continued to play themselves out - often in the form of disagreements between Safa and the PSL.The most recent example of this was the PSL's launch of the MultiChoice Diski Challenge, a PSL Reserve League, last year.Safa was not pleased, telling the PSL that amateur soccer fell under its jurisdiction, not the PSL's.Although the matter was eventually resolved, it reminded the nation of the tensions that still existed between the two administrators.As the controversy over the $10-million deepened this week, Khoza remained conspicuous in his silence.Frustrated reporters say attempts to get comment from him have been unanswered - unusual from a man most regard as Mr Soccer himself, a leader who never shies away from publicly taking a stand and speaking his mind on topical issues.A few months ago, as South Africa was once again gripped by a wave of xenophobic violence, Khoza was one of the most outspoken public personalities on the matter - leading the soccer fraternity and other sectors in campaigns aimed at tackling the scourge.He also assumed a prominent leadership role when South Africa was hit by news of the violent death of Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa, and at the untimely death of super star and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations star Shoes Moshoeu.His silence as the country searches for answers regarding the Fifa debacle has left many wondering.story_article_right2Whatever his reasons for not speaking out, one thing is clear: if, for whatever reason, the controversy proves too damaging for Jordaan to survive, Khoza stands to benefit most.Control over Safa, which runs all national soccer teams and is responsible for football development in the country, would once again fall into his hands and those of his associates.Soccer journalists who work closely with Safa officials say those sympathetic to Khoza had started - long before the Fifa scandal broke - to quietly question the wisdom of Jordaan holding both the Safa and mayoral jobs.They apparently backed the DA's call that Jordaan should choose between the two demanding posts.Jordaan has been adamant that he can do both without any difficulty - and that he has the blessing of Fifa.But now, with his opponents in both football and politics turning the issue into a political controversy, his new priority will be that of clearing his name while holding on to both positions.It is no easy task, especially because the opponents he is facing on both fronts are formidable.To achieve their goals - winning the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, in the case of Maimane, and winning back Safa, in that of Khoza - they will have to exploit the $10-million controversy to the hilt...