Online Reporter
IN yesterday’s issue of H-Metro we published the story of a vicious social media smear campaign to target South African Football Association Chief Finance Officer, Gronie Hluyo.
His only problem is that Hluyo is a Zimbabwean.
The campaign was started by a Facebook page called ‘Local Football Uncensored,’ which claims it is a whistleblower in South African football, ‘speaker of the truth, non-conformist and shaker of trees.’
A post on the page said the SAFA finances were being held by a Zimbabwean and this was unacceptable. Those who posted asked their readers and followers to name which other country would allow their football federation’s finances to be run by a foreigner.
They also reminded their readers and followers that Dominic Chimhavi, a former SAFA spokesperson, was also a Zimbabwean.
They said they could not understand how a person from another country could be the mouthpiece of their national football controlling body.
Hluyo, 55, is a Zimbabwean accountant who was educated at Victoria High School from 1984-1989 and the University of South Africa.
He was a member of the board of directors of the Southern African Institute for Business Accountants for three years between June 2016 and June 2019.
That he is qualified for his job is not questionable.
There is no dispute about that but it appears those who wanted to smear his name were not only happy that he was a Zimbabwean.
What utter rubbish!
He is not the only foreigner who is occupying such a big post in the football controlling bodies of other nations.
We are happy that a sizable number of South Africans have refused to be lured into this storm of hate with some even questioning why the same people, who wanted to judge Hluyo by his nationality, did not do the same when Beast Mtawarira was helping the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup.
We agree with those sober-minded South Africans. It’s ridiculous that some people would like to target Hluyo while turning a blind eye to the reality that the Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, is a Belgian.
So, we have a Belgian and a Zimbabwean occupying key posts within SAFA, one of the Bafana Bafana coach while the other is the Chief Finance Officer.
But, the nationality of Broos is ignored, probably because he is white, while the nationality of Hluyo is targeted, probably because he is black and Zimbabwean.
That’s hypocrisy!
England, the country which claims to have founded football, have just turned to another foreign coach for their Three Lions.
He will not be judged by where he comes from but by his results.
The head coach of the Chevrons right now is Justin Sammons, a South African. He got the job not because he is white or South African but because he had the best credentials.
We don’t care about the nationality of the coach who guides the Chevrons but we only care about their results.
We are humbled by the online support which Hluyo has received from South Africans.
