Re-elected South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has endorsed Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president, while arguing that private investment has an increasingly important role to play in the modern game.
Jordaan secured a fourth term at SAFA’s elective congress in Midrand on Sunday, defeating AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu by 157 votes to 82. His victory places him among the African football leaders to have publicly backed Infantino ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election in Morocco.
Infantino’s proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative, which aims to attract private investment into football-related businesses, has faced criticism from within the game. Jordaan said he supported the principle, although he questioned the process by which it had been introduced.
“We support Gianni Infantino, and I’ll tell you why. The issue pertains to private investment in football business,” Jordaan said.
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He cited the corporate ownership of clubs in England, private equity involvement in La Liga and Qatar’s ownership of Paris Saint-Germain as evidence that outside investment was already embedded in elite football.
“I don’t agree with the lack of consultation with the FIFA members,” he added.
Jordaan, who first became SAFA president in 2013, said Infantino and CAF president Patrice Motsepe were among the first to contact him after his re-election.
The 74-year-old also dismissed claims that SAFA’s regional structures had failed to advance football development, particularly after Bafana Bafana’s participation in the 2026 World Cup.
His return has renewed questions over a pledge made in 2022 that his third term would be his last. Jordaan insisted the decision belonged to SAFA’s regions.
“I don’t appoint myself within SAFA,” he said. “SAFA is a democratic organisation. Tomorrow they can have a vote of no confidence and I’ll be out.”
He added that SAFA would work with FIFA on its Vision 2030 programme as the association begins another four-year cycle.