ADMINISTRATIVE CHAOS: Athletics SA moves rapidly to implement World Athletics leadership overhaul directive
After being mandated to overhaul its leadership and constitution by World Athletics, South Africa’s custodian of athletics has provided an update on the next steps as it chips away at compliance.
South Africa's athletics governing body, Athletics South Africa (ASA), is rapidly implementing changes to its leadership and constitution following a directive from World Athletics. As part of these reforms, acting president John Mathane has stepped aside and been replaced by Jean Verster, who will serve as acting president and chairperson of Track and Field for the next four weeks. Verster will be at the helm of the troubled federation until ASA's council convenes on November 28th to elect new interim leadership.
The leadership overhaul was mandated by World Athletics and the Southern African Confederation of Athletics (Saca) President Zakhele Dlamini, who attended the ASA board meeting on October 30th to ensure the process runs smoothly. Dlamini removed ASA president James Moloi from his position after he was found guilty of misusing the organization's credit card.
Following Moloi's suspension, the board unanimously appointed Verster as the acting president, accepting the responsibility to provide interim leadership and facilitate the federation's governance and compliance processes.
World Athletics threatened to ban South African athletes from the sport if ASA did not initiate the extensive reforms in its leadership structure and constitution. The federation has now taken the next steps in the reform process, including a comprehensive strategic planning meeting from November 13th to 15th. The meeting, which will include Dlamini, will focus on finalizing an organizational roadmap to guide ASA's governance and operational alignment with World Athletics and the Confederation of African Athletics' requirements.
The proposed roadmap will be presented to the ASA council for consideration and adoption, and then submitted to the two international and continental athletics governing bodies.
For athletes, these reforms are crucial in addressing the uncertainty caused by rogue and greedy administrators that have hindered their potential. ASA has stated its commitment to strengthening its governance structures, promoting stability within the federation, and ensuring the interests of South African athletics remain central to the ongoing processes.
However, with intense scrutiny from World Athletics and the international athletics community, ASA must now back up its words with actions in the coming weeks and months.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
