Confidential SAFA letter intended for CEO ends up with Adult World boss

Safa Vice-President Bennet Bailey has revealed how a confidential letter intended for the association’s chief executive, Lydia Monyepao, found its way to the chief executive of Adult World.

The football governing body has faced heavy scrutiny in recent days over allegations that its leadership continues to run the organization like a personal fiefdom.

Matters unraveled further when Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie lambasted Safa for failing to provide frequent updates on the implementation of VAR, despite his department allocating R30 million to roll out the system.

Consequently, the association was summoned by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts, and Culture on Tuesday to account for several issues, including the World Cup campaign, the VAR rollout, and updates regarding the appointment of Hugo Broos’ successor, Pitso Mosimane.

Amid these challenges, Bailey revealed on Marawa Sports Worldwide with Robert Marawa how a letter meant for Fifa via Safa CEO Monyepao wound up in the wrong hands, including those of Adult World’s boss.

“We wrote a 13-page letter from the Safa Cape Town side, dated July 17, which was meant for the Fifa Ethics Committee, the Fifa Investigation Chamber, and the General Secretary of Fifa,” Bailey revealed. “We sent that letter exclusively to the CEO of Safa so that she could forward it to the designated recipients.

“However, it found its way to a fake social media page created to lambast Safa and its work. We don’t know how that happened.

“Beyond that, strangely and worryingly, this letter found its way to the CEO of Adult World. That individual sent us a letter of demand insisting that we retract what was contained in the letter, even though we had sent it directly to her.”

Given that the contents were intended to be strictly football-related, Bailey admitted he could not explain whether anyone within SAFA maintained ties with the adult entertainment retailer.

“We sent the letter to the Safa CEO, but it found its way there,” Bailey said. “Maybe there is a connection – I don’t know.”