SAFA Tshwane Extraordinary Congress: A Bridge to a New Brand

SAFA Tshwane, which ceases to be known as SAFA Tshwane with immediate effect, held its Extraordinary Congress on August 3, 2024, as planned to consider the residue issues from the previous Congress, and the change of name.

The Congress was a success, albeit with the absence of some of the LFAs. In attendance were 10 out of 16 LFAs. Two REC could not make it to Congress due to unforeseen circumstances.

The Congress adopted the resolutions of the fee adjustments, which will have the following impact:

1. The affiliation fee will increase from R1 000.00 to R1 200.00 with immediate effect. Members will receive invoices with the new affiliation fee amount.
2. The club registration fees of the WRL teams will change from R2 500,00 to R3 000,00, with effect from 2025.
3. The WPL registration fees will increase from R2 000,00 to R2 500,00, effective in 2025.
4. The MRL registration fees will increase from a combined cost of R5 525,00 to a fee of R6 200,00 with immediate effect.
5. The MRL referee fees will increase from R220,00 to R250,00 with immediate effect.

The Congress also approved the appointment of the new auditors, Kuyasa Registered Auditors, who met all the requirements in terms of compliance and scoring points. They are registered with IRBA, ACCA, and SAICA. They are based in Johannesburg, and they are also affordable. The new auditors will hit the ground running by starting with the auditing of the 2023–24 books. This is the financial year starting on July 1, 2023, ending on June 30, 2024, and will be reported on during the Ordinary Congress that will be held in November 2024. They will also audit the financial year starting on July 1, 2025, and ending on June 30, 2026.

Another matter that the Congress considered was the change of the name of the region from SAFA Tshwane to Tshwane Regional Football Association. It is understood that while Tshwane is an organization in its own right, it still fulfills the SAFA mandate of operating football at a regional level. As such, we operate as a region, and our mandate is regional, which is one of the primary reasons we have the word ‘regional’ in the new name. The new name was approved as proposed.

Lastly, we witnessed a ceremonious activity where the acting President signed the new Statutes with the new name. As the decision was taken, it was effected. This was indeed a zero-day transition. Here is what is to follow:

1. The amended statutes (the Constitution) have been signed and will be circulated to all the Members of the region, to Gauteng Football Association, to SAFA, to Tshwane Sports Confederation, to the Department of Social Development, to South African Revenue Services, and any other stakeholder of relevant interest.
2. The rebranding project will introduce a new logo for the region by the end of August 2024. Please note that any logo in use now is only for effect, and will be replaced by the logo that attracts the will of the Members of the region.
3. The governance documents and templates will be revised only to change the name, color schemes, and logo therein. With no material changes.
4. The new banners and other marketing materials containing the new branding and logo will be procured.
5. The SAFA Tshwane website and emails will be moved from the current domain of safatshwane.org.za to TshwaneRFA.org.za.

The email of the association will change in due course, and all stakeholders will be informed accordingly.

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