MPs stand up to Fifa

Parliament has told Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula to ask international soccer controlling body Fifa why it is keeping this country in the dark about its investigations into allegations of match-fixing relating to Bafana Bafana's friendly games ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

MPs have also called for the SA Sports Act to be amended to give the sports minister and parliament the power to summons sporting federations such as Fifa to account to the legislature on their dealings with local sports federations.

The move is controversial because Fifa has traditionally taken a tough stance against political interference in soccer, sometimes suspending offending countries from international football.

Bafana Bafana's friendly games against Colombia, Guatemala, Thailand and Bulgaria were all to be investigated after it emerged that Football4U, a company linked to a convicted match fixer, bookmaker Wilson Raj Perumal, had been contracted to appoint match officials.

Several top SA Football Association officials were suspended after the allegations surfaced. But the suspensions were reversed because the committee that ordered them did not have the authority to do so.

At a meeting of the parliamentary portfolio committee on sport and recreation yesterday, Mbalula and other MPs said it was worrying that there seemed to have been no progress in the Fifa investigation nearly two years after it was announced.

Mbalula appeared before the committee to brief MPs on the investigation but had to admit that he had not heard from Fifa since it was begun.

He said he did not have the power to order Fifa to fast-track its investigation. He said he could not take the risk of "tempting" Fifa to ban South Africa from international soccer.

Articles 13 and 17 of Fifa's constitution insist on the independence of member federations and prohibit third-party influences.

But Mbalula said there was nothing to stop MPs from talking to Fifa.

"The committee, representing parliament, is actually asking for more answers from Fifa on this particular question and I'm committing myself to you that I'm going to undertake that mission and give feedback to the committee," he said.

"There's nothing in the law that debars the committee from engaging Fifa direct in terms of the match-fixing question ... Let's engage Fifa on the questions you've raised, together with our federation, Safa, and hold us accountable."

ANC MP and sports committee chairman Beauty Dlulane said it was time to give governments more teeth in dealing with sports bodies such as Fifa, which often cited interference when the issue of clean governance was raised.

"In some countries [such as] France and Greece they are trying to amend their legislation in connection with this criminal code on match-fixing. We as South Africans, can't we support legislation that we can come [up] with in order that we at least have teeth," she asked.

It remains to be seen how President Jacob Zuma reacts to this.

In March he announced that he would no longer appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged corruption.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told the Sunday Times at the time that Zuma took the decision after consulting Fifa.

Former US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Michael Garcia was asked to take over the investigation.

Additional reporting by Mninawa Ntloko