Sepp Blatter is no-one’s favourite guy, but his GOAL project – started in 1999 – has funded 600 projects in 199 member associations. Artificial pitches, association HQ’s, training centres have all been built totally on Fifa’s dime. How many projects has South Africa got funded? Zero.

This week Fifa announced that its investment in Goal projects has reached almost R2 billion. According to the Fifa website the “Goal Programme allows each member association of Fifa to receive funding for football development projects that respond to the special needs of their national associations.” It goes on to describe the current cycle of projects:

For the 2011-2014 cycle, and with the approval of the Congress, Fifa’s Executive Committee has set funding for each Goal project at USD 500 000

That’s very generous. Thanks Fiffa. The African continent has taken advantage of the program with 143 projects underway or completed, more than any other confederation. Unfortunately for locals, South Africa does not have a single project listed on the site. All Safa had to do was put forward a proposal to be given the nod by Fifa, and we could have been spending $500 000 on a football project somewhere in the country. And no one is going to suggest that we couldn’t have done with one.

According to The Sowetan, we were pretty close:

Three years ago [Safa] had proposed to Fifa that an upgrading of the School of Excellence in Tembisa could be a Goal project but it first had to get a lease on the land before the money would be sent from Zurich.

Alright. So Safa wasn’t completely and entirely useless. But why isn’t the project listed on the Fifa website? Oh, I see, the lease still has not been signed. Safa’s chief executive officer Robin Petersen said, “It is not 100% finalised although we are getting close”. I’d hope so.

Most Southern African countries have three to four projects already. Zimbabwe, not exactly a paragon of efficiency, has already had two projects approved.

Sport Live reported that “Fifa officials said they were bewildered that Safa has not come up with a firm proposal while the money was available.” I think you can add to that, the rest of the country. We are all bewildered Safa, completely and utterly bewildered.

[Source: Fifa, Sowetan, Sport Live]