Dan Leboa a doyen of SA football administration‚ memorial told

20 October 2017 - 09:36 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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Ryan Giggs and Dan Leboa. File photo.
Ryan Giggs and Dan Leboa. File photo.
Image: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images

Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) general manager Dan Leboa was remembered as a doyen of his craft and administrator par excellence during his memorial service at the league’s headquarters on Thursday afternoon.

Leboa‚ who died last Friday after a short illness‚ worked in football administration from 1972 serving both at club level and at the PSL (formerly the National Soccer League or NSL) as a chief gate controller‚ and later as general manager of football.

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza‚ who met Leboa in Alexandra township in 1966 and worked with him for many years after their first meeting‚ praised him as a disciplined and focused man who left an indelible mark in South African football.

“He was disciplined and focused‚ he was Mr Constitution‚ Mr Rules‚ he was the NSL. Dan deserved to be respected‚ because he served football for a long time and with dedication.

“Dan made his mark‚ he played his part and may his soul rest in eternal peace‚” Khoza said in his speech.

Black Leopards chairman David Thidiela was introduced to football administration by Leboa in the security department in the early 1970s. Thidiela said he rose through the ranks in the game under the tutelage of Leboa.

“I met Bra Dan back in the early 70s when I was still a policeman in Soweto. He helped me to be where I am today and the league is what it is today because of Bra Dan‚” Thidiela said.

“He was selfless‚ when we had double-headers back in the day‚ he made sure that everything went smoothly. Dan recruited a lot of people to football – some were playing dice in the streets and he brought them to football.”

Former Bafana Bafana coach and current Orlando Pirates technical director Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala said Leboa was laid the ground rules for football administration in SA.

“I met Bra Dan when I was still playing for Alexandra Real Fighters‚ which was a professional football team back then‚” Tshabalala said.

“He was a bible of football administration and he taught my chairman‚ Dr Khoza‚ football administration.

“Alexandra has produced a lot of great people and I don't know what it is about that township. It is good that Bra Dan will be buried in Nasrec which is next to FNB Stadium to show that he was a football man.”

A senior official in the PSL security department‚ Nhlanhla Dube‚ who worked closely with Leboa‚ said he guided the security team during difficult times and he taught them a lot of things in their challenging task of dealing with crowd control.

Leboa will be buried on Sunday at the Nasrec cemetery.

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