Ncobo walks out of Safa elections claiming threats‚ Jordaan is president

Ace Ncobo has walked out of the South Africa Football Association elective congress at Sandton Convention Centre, leaving Danny Jordaan to stand unopposed and be reelected Safa president for a second term of five years.

Ncobo claimed to have been threatened while returning to his seat after raising several objections to the election continuing.

He then asked to be withdrawn from the process and walked out.

Ncobo was the only candidate set to run against Jordaan in what has been one of the most dirtily-fought buildups to a Safa presidential election.

Former referee Ncobo was asked what his next move is.

"We will have to review that. The decision cannot be mine," he said.

"I did not nominate myself. There are a whole lot of other people who must make the decision in terms of where to from now."

Ncobo said the election was continuing illegally and unlawfully. Asked if he, or his backers, would contest the result, he responded: "Again, that decision cannot be mine. It's a collective decision.

"I have registered there, inside congress, formally - it's minuted - that I said this thing is unprocedural, unlawful and it is organised illegally."

Ncobo was asked the details of the alleged threats he received.

"As soon as I announced that I want my name removed from this thing there were delegates who started threatening me, especially one gentleman who was close to my table who threw all kinds of insults and threats.

"I don't know his name. I can't repeat the things that he said," Ncobo said.

"But I tabled it again, at the congress, that, 'I am being threatened here', and the chairperson of the electoral committee called him to order."

Ncobo has raised objections to these elections continuing due to several alleged instances of not obeying the statutes and constitution of Safa by the association.

"Even the timeframes. They just called for a condonement of timeframes that have not been met right inside this congress," Ncobo said.

"They just come to congress and then they bulldoze that those illegal steps must be condoned. Clearly that's not democracy, that's not procedure."

Among objections raised by Ncobo were that the nominees list was released by Safa nine days before the congress, not 14 days, as stipulated in the Safa statutes.

He and his backers have said that the electoral committee was handpicked by Jordaan, not elected, after the previous committee's tenure expired in August 2017.

Ncobo's protestations had played a role, though Safa claimed it was for other reasons, having an initial election date of March 24 put off.

Ncobo had been backed by a new National Football Consultative Forum (NFCF) seeking to remove Jordaan as Safa president.

Jordaan was backed by the Football Transformation Forum (FTF), who had claimed as many as 48 out of Safa's 52 regions had nominated the incumbent, who was expected to win by a landslide even if Ncobo had stood.

Jordaan, still involved in the elective congress, where his new term had to be ratified and a Safa Council (formerly the National Executive Committee, or NEC) had to be elected, was not immediately available for comment.

He was expected to speak in a press conference once the congress was concluded.

•  This is a developing story