New SAFA Membership Fees labelled 'money-making scheme'

With SAFA looking to improve its ailing finances and cash flow challenges, as from 1 July 2024, they have been charging their members between R100 and R200 in annual membership fees.

If successful, this collection of membership fees would see SAFA collecting over R300 million annually, but former Gompo LFA president Vukile Mlanjana has criticised this as a money-making scheme.

"This is just a money-making scheme that is detrimental to the development of our kids. Remember it's one of the things that made me submit my resignation and I put an article the Daily Despatch," said Mlanjana.

"The issue of me resigning is that I cannot see any under-11 paying R50 to a member in good standing at SAFA Buffalo City. The same under-11 has to pay R100 to be a member in good standing at a national level with SAFA.

"Remember also, SAFA Buffalo City is the mother body of Gompo, so they give us directives, and if we are not following their directives, they put our LFAs under administration because we are not forcing teams to pay this money."

A SAFA circular dated 25 June 2024, which SABC Sport has seen, was sent to all SAFA NEC members, Local Football Associations, the PSL, and Associate Members confirming the implementation of the collection of these membership fees.

Mlanjana has been running football in areas with informal settlements, where most kids playing football are living in daily poverty, and he says SAFA are supposed to help these needy kids with funding instead of the other way around.

Senior players (aged 19 and above) are expected to pay R200 per annum, while junior players (under-19) must pay R100 annually.

SAFA Johannesburg is one of the most progressive regional FAs in the country, with a lot of support from the corporate sector, but its president Phil Mogodi says they are very concerned about these new membership fees.

"I think from Johannesburg, we had an executive meeting on Sunday and we sent the letter to our membership as well as the CEO, because we've appointed a committee to sit with them [SAFA]," said Mogodi.

"I can tell you, already there is some reaction, which is not positive – they are negative, with people saying they can't even afford to buy soccer boots or kits.

"Remember, a club has around four divisions, and I think we need to engage more with our head office and understand the things behind the scenes, and also help them by showing them there are methods we can bring on board.

"But let's wait for the engagement because there's an uproar out there, and if we don't manage it properly, it will collapse the system."

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