{"id":32666,"date":"2025-10-21T13:57:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T11:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=32666"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:44:58","slug":"gayton-mckenzie-demands-danny-jordaan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/gayton-mckenzie-demands-danny-jordaan\/","title":{"rendered":"Gayton McKenzie Claims He Demanded Danny Jordaan\u2019s Resignation If Bafana Failed to Qualify"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has revealed that he demanded SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan resign if Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McKenzie insists that from the moment he took office, he made his expectations clear to Jordaan qualification or resignation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI met with Danny Jordaan when I first became minister. I said to him, here are the two things: I want us to qualify for the World Cup, and if not, you must resign. He shook my hand and said he would deliver and he did. What more do people want me to say now?\u201d McKenzie told <em>SportsBoom.co.za<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-celebrations-stir-controversy\"><strong>Celebrations Stir Controversy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While his claim sounds bold in hindsight, it\u2019s hard to verify whether such a conversation ever took place. It is unclear whether McKenzie could have enforced Jordaan\u2019s resignation if Bafana had fallen short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The minister was among the first to rush onto the pitch after Bafana clinched qualification, celebrating exuberantly before television cameras. The sight of a politician taking centre stage so soon after the players\u2019 triumph left a sour impression. Some critics suggest McKenzie was trying to bask in the team\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3476384065\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-acknowledging-safa-s-success-and-stirring-the-pot\"><strong>Acknowledging Safa\u2019s Success \u2014 and Stirring the Pot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the backlash, McKenzie praised Safa for \u201ckeeping their word,\u201d acknowledging the football body\u2019s role in steering Bafana to success. He also commended Jordaan for delivering under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, McKenzie has also been outspoken about the controversial yellow card error involving Teboho Mokoena. This was a blunder that briefly jeopardized South Africa\u2019s World Cup hopes. In his bid for transparency, McKenzie even wrote to FIFA seeking clarity on how Bafana were docked points during their qualifying campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-walking-a-fine-line-with-fifa\"><strong>Walking a Fine Line with FIFA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While McKenzie\u2019s intervention may have been well-intentioned, it raised concerns about potential government interference something FIFA strictly forbids. Such involvement could, in extreme cases, lead to sanctions or even a ban from international football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safa president Danny Jordaan had previously stated that the yellow card matter was \u201cclosed,\u201d suggesting McKenzie\u2019s inquiry risked overstepping. For now, Bafana\u2019s qualification has brought joy to fans, but McKenzie\u2019s comments continue to spark debate over where government oversight ends and football autonomy begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-716262127\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion-between-leadership-and-limelight\"><strong>Conclusion: Between Leadership and Limelight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gayton McKenzie\u2019s assertion that he demanded accountability from <a href=\"https:\/\/iol.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/2025-10-21-gayton-mckenzie-i-wanted-danny-jordaan-to-resign-if-bafana-didnt-qualify-for-the-fifa-world-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safa<\/a>\u2019s leadership paints him as a results-driven minister yet his eagerness to share the spotlight has drawn mixed reactions. While Bafana Bafana\u2019s qualification remains a cause for national celebration, the minister\u2019s involvement serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between political support and sporting independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/salary-cuts-on-the-table-as-safa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Salary Cuts on the Table as Safa Battles Financial Collapse<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has revealed that he demanded SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan resign if Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. McKenzie insists that from the moment he took office, he made his expectations clear to Jordaan qualification or resignation. \u201cI met with Danny Jordaan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":32669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has revealed that he demanded SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan resign if Bafana Bafana...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[286,284,1000,11108],"class_list":{"0":"post-32666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-bafana-bafana","10":"tag-football-news","11":"tag-gayton-mckenzie","12":"tag-latest-sports-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32718,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32666\/revisions\/32718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}