TheSportsCampus

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is celebrating 20 years of existence. On Wednesday, 23 March 2011, they kicked off the celebrations with a media launch on a Morning Live broadcast on SABC 2. A special SAFA logo to commemorate the year was launched on the show. It will be used for the year 2011 as a reminder of the 20^th year Anniversary.

A series of celebrations have been planned throughout the year starting with Bafana Bafana’s AFCON qualifier against Egypt at the Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday, 26 March 2011. A musical performance by Chomee and Zakes Bantwini will be part of the festivities. The Olympic qualifier between the South African Under 23 team and their Libyan counterparts on Sunday, 27 March at the Sinaba Stadium will also be used as part of the celebrations.

Since readmission back into the international sporting arena back in 1992, SAFA has enjoyed great success. Bafana Bafana has played in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (France 98, Korea and Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010 which we successfully hosted), a feat not achieved by many. SAFA was recently awarded the right to host the 2011 African Youth Championship, as well as the 2017 AFCON tournament.

The Senior Men’s National team has also played in several Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments since the 1996 showpiece that we hosted and won.

Other key milestones achieved include the National Under 20 team qualifying the Under 20 FIFA World Cup in 2009; the National Under 17 Women’s team taking part at the Under 17 FIFA Women’s World Cup last year; reaching the quarterfinals of the 2011 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Sudan with players mainly from Vodacom league; kick-starting and completing Phase One of the Grassroots Football Program in all nine provinces - the program has touched over 5000 children and over 200 coaches have been trained; and also conducting the Level 3 Pro Licence Coaching Course - the highest coaching qualification in the country.

“We should be proud of the journey we have travelled. The reason for this celebration is to say let us look back at where we come from, where we are and where we are going. However, we should also remember that what lies behind is nothing compared to what lies ahead. This celebration is the continuation of our aspiration to return to the heights that we once enjoyed. We want to ensure that the whole country is part of the celebrations whenever there is a SAFA event, and part of that will be to honour those who have travelled the road before us, who handed the baton to us,” said SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani.

Several events have been lined up to commemorate 20 years of SAFA’s existence, and these include:

• Football Lekgotla:  A Football Technical Lekgotla scheduled for May this year to craft a road map for 2018

• World Cup Anniversary match: To stage an international match in July to celebrate the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

• Women’s Month celebration: We are looking at staging a celebration of women football during the month of August.

• SAFA AGM and 20^th Anniversary Banquet: The SAFA AGM in September will be preceded by the 20^th Anniversary Banquet to pay homage to everyone who has made SAFA what it is today

• Nelson Mandela Challenge: In November we will get involved with Charity work leading to the Nelson Mandela Challenge where we might face Chile