Cape Town - Danny Jordaan, the SA Football Association’s battle-hardened administrator, knows a thing or two about World Cup and Olympic bids.
In the early 1990s, he was the director of the Cape Town Olympic Bid Company, which targeted the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Later, after he was elected as the CEO of Safa, he headed up South Africa’s unsuccessful 2006 Fifa World Cup bid – where SA lost narrowly to Germany, but gained great respect internationally.
He led South Africa’s 2010 Fifa World Cup bid, this time successfully, and now 13 years on, he is again on the World Cup bid trail.
This time, he is spearheading the country’s efforts to secure the host status of the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
On the eve of his departure to Egypt on Monday night, Jordaan told Independent Media that the South African bid was off to a flying start after Cosafa’s 14 member countries gave their blessing.
“It was a great boost for our bid,” said Jordaan. “The rest of the world would have noticed that football’s regional power in southern Africa was supporting the bid.
“As South Africans, we can start building on that support by doing things such as ensuring that the country has a fully-fledged women’s professional league.
“We started on this course five years ago, and this matter will be a crucial part of our strategy for the success of our bid.”
Jordaan and his colleagues have urged the PSL clubs to start women’s teams to raise the profile of women’s football in this country.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have also played their part in growing women’s football by stipulating that clubs which do not have women’s teams will be prevented from playing in continental events under their umbrella.
TS Galaxy, Mamelodi Sundowns and Royal AM are the only DStv Premiership sides playing in the women’s Hollywoodbets Super League.
Presently, SuperSport United are finalising their plans to field a women’s team.
With big-name clubs like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates set to follow suit, Jordaan anticipates an explosion in women’s soccer interest.
“Next year will be huge because our clubs will all have women’s teams,” said Jordaan. “Things are falling into place, and by next year, we will have the basics for a great bid effort.
“We’ve seen more than 50 women delegates attend the Safa AGM, and they unanimously endorsed the plan.”
Yesterday, Jordaan was at the CAF headquarters in Cairo to win support for the bid. From there, he will visit CAF members in the various regions to canvas support for the bid.
@Herman_Gibbs