The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has threatened to deal with officials of any member federation that misappropriates funds meant to develop the game in their countries.
 
CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, yesterday, warned that strong action will be taken against individuals found guilty of corruption in African football associations, adding that the body is out to wipe out corruption in the African football system.
 
Speaking in Johannesburg on the backdrop of the financial scandal dogging the South African Football Association (Safa), Motsepe said: “As president of CAF, I want to say two things: of course, I’ve got to respect the disciplinary bodies within CAF; we’ve got a disciplinary board and appeal. We also have FIFA and CAS (the Court of Arbitration for Sport). These are internal regulatory bodies that are very important.
 
“I also have to respect the laws of every country on the continent and their legal processes. In many countries on the continent, I’ve always emphasised (the importance of clean governance).
 
“I’ve got some (FA) presidents who are in jail, and I’ve said, ‘Bring them to court and let the court decide, don’t (just) keep them in prison’. That is very important.
 
“I have to emphasize we have to look at football as an asset of our people, as what belongs to the nation and what belongs to our country. At all times we should make enormous sacrifices and enormous contributions. I’m watching and looking at every country.”
 
Motsepe was speaking on the sidelines of CAF renewing its partnership with Africa Global Logistics- the company in charge of dealing with all logistics in major CAF competitions, including the men’s and women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
 
The question of individuals accused of corruption arose as the fraud case involving SAFA President, Danny Jordaan and his two co-accused- Safa CFO, Gronie Hluyo, and business-person, Trevor Neethling- is ongoing in court.
 
During their recent court appearance on February 7, three charges of theft levelled against Jordaan and Hluyo were withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority. But Hluyo and Jordaan still face three charges of fraud and one more for conspiracy to commit fraud amounting to just over R1.1m.
 
Asked specifically about SAFA and the case involving Jordaan, Motsepe appealed for calm and for the court process to be allowed to run its course, saying CAF cannot act on accusations that have not been proved in court. He, however, emphasised that CAF will take stern action against those found guilty of malpractice at African football associations.
 
“We have to make sure there’s due process; there’s legality and ethics. And what I said is there will be zero tolerance for corruption.
 “If we get anybody having been involved in conduct that violates the CAF statutes and regulations and corruption, we’ll take action.”
 
Noting that he will not comment on any judicial process and the duties the leaders have in any organization, Motsepe said: “But I can guarantee you that we’ll not sit and look when there’s improper behavior and conduct.
 
“Not just take action, we’ll consistently review our rules because sometimes the problem is our rules. They’ve been there for so many years, and the consequences are not as extreme as some misdemeanors and some of the violations.
 
“But of course, I may not make any comment on any judicial process and that applies to the duties of the leaders in any organisation. But I can guarantee you that we’ll not sit and look when there’s improper behaviour and conduct.
 
“There may be interventions, which may not be just legal but are ethical, which you (the media) may not be aware of.
 
“But at all times you’ve got to be legal and behave in a manner that is ethical and with compliance with governance. But we can’t close our eyes with irregular behaviour and conduct, and we will not.”