Jordaan fails to secure FIFA seat
Reuters - Wednesday 23 February 2011, 14:07
CAPE TOWN - Danny Jordaan, the man
responsible for organising a successful World Cup in South
Africa, was handed a humbling defeat in his bid for a place on
FIFA 's executive committee on Wednesday.
Jordaan was hoping to follow in the footsteps of Michel
Platini and Franz Beckenbauer, former World Cup organisers who
have moved to the top seats in football politics, but garnered
less than 10 percent of the vote at the Confederation of African
Football's congress in Sudan.
Mohamed Raouraoua of Algeria finished first in a hotly
contested race for two African places on the all-powerful
cabinet of world football with 39 votes and becomes the newest
member of the 24-man FIFA committee.
The president of the Algerian Football Federation received
39 votes while Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast retained his seat
with 35 votes, earning another four-year term.
Jordaan, who received widespread praise for his organising
of the 2010 World Cup, received just 10 votes in Khartoum. Each
of CAF's 53 member countries voted twice.
"Ultimately it is the choice of the national federations of
Africa and I can only wish the two winners well," Jordaan told
Reuters by telephone.
"There was a lot of fulsome praise for South Africa and the
way we organised the World Cup but it didn't translate into
votes. We'll need to reflect on it."
Jordaan said he would continue in football administration.
He is a vice president of the South African Football Association
but has no major role in the game now since he World Cup
organising committee shut up shop in January.
"I'll continue my work in football. It's not dependent on a
position. There is a lot to do in the country, in the region and
on the various committees where I serve," he added.
Jordaan finished behind Suketu Patel of the Seychelles, who
received 12 votes but ahead of Nigerian Ibrahim Galadima, who
received just five. Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia withdrew from the
race in a tactical move that saw him voted instead onto the CAF
executive committee, which runs the African game.
The 64-year-old Raouraoua has had two separate terms at the
head of Algerian football and has also revived a regional body
for north Africa.
He takes the seat of Amos Adamu, who lost an appeal over his
suspension earlier this month.
The Nigerian was banned from all soccer-related activity for
three years after allegedly offering to sell his vote in the
recent World Cup bidding campaign to Sunday Times reporters
posing as lobbyists for an American consortium.