adminMninawa Ntloko
TOKYO Sexwale’s bid to become the ninth president of football governing body Fifa doesn’t exactly warm the cockles of the heart for everybody this side of the equator. Never mind the suspicion he is certain to encounter when he takes The Gospel According to Sexwale to other parts of the globe, it seems the businessman and politician also faces antagonism closer to home.
A little birdie tells me there are some inside and outside SA’s borders who are so incensed that he had the temerity to throw his name into the Fifa hat that they are willing to go to great lengths to ensure he never gets to ease his frame into the easy chair suspended incumbent Sepp Blatter has occupied since 1998.
Each of the candidates were required to present five letters of support from different countries as part of the conditions for their nominations, and we can reveal that Sexwale received nods from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique and SA. Zambia, Botswana and Namibia declined to nominate him.
The South African’s rivals must be wetting themselves at the idea that not only does he have to face foreign audiences and try to convince them, he’s also being made to jump through man-made hoops even in his neck of the woods. South African Football Association (Safa) CEO Dennis Mumble confirmed to this columnist a couple of days ago that letters seeking support for Sexwale’s presidential bid were sent to all of SA’s regional Council of Southern Africa Football Associations’ neighbours. Charity begins at home and all that. . .
But the jury is still out on for now on how the rest among our 15 neighbours responded to the SOS. One thing we know is that one of these letters landed in Botswana Football Association CEO Kitso Kemoeng’s e-mail inbox a couple of days ago, but our man never got around to reading the bloody thing in full.
He confirmed to this columnist a few days ago that he partially read an e-mail from Safa about the former Gauteng premier, but never got around to finishing it. ‘‘We do have a letter from Safa introducing Mr Sexwale,” Kemoeng said.
‘‘But it arrived too late for us to be able to make a decision. I never got around to be able to read the letter in full.” Make what you will of that, folks. Sexwale had better thank his lucky stars that SA, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique came through for him, because I shudder to think what would have happened if football authorities in those countries were also in the habit of only partially reading e-mails.
Lesotho Football Association CEO Mogosi Mohapi did not mince his words when he said there was never any doubt in their minds as to whom to support in the fiercely contested Fifa presidential race.
While intrigued by the gusting winds of negativity that are being blown in Sexwale’s direction, he was unwavering in his support for the man. ‘‘We cannot be dictated to by anyone as to how we should take our resolutions,” the stern CEO emphasised. Like the politician he is, Sexwale has chosen his words carefully during the past few days, but I imagine when he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he concedes this is going to be a bumpy ride.
He, of all people, should know that the games are well and truly under way and the plots of author Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne spy thrillers are going to look pedestrian in comparison to the shenanigans that are set to play out behind the scenes.
Securing a place on the nomination list was the easy part; successfully negotiating his way past the inevitable turbulent waters of the coming weeks will be the tricky bit. This is football, after all, and at stake is an opulent corner office coveted by many, one from which Blatter had to be dragged kicking and screaming.
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Online Reporter