Latest news with #Moloi
eNCA
a day ago
- Sport
- eNCA
James Moloi promises new plans for Athletics South Africa
JOHANNESBURG - James Moloi promises a turn-around strategy for Athletics South Africa. Moloi was re-elected president of ASA on Saturday during a Quadrennial General Meeting held the OR Tambo Garden. Most of the board he worked with also keep their posts. John Mathane takes over as vice-president from Shireen Noble, and Kesa Molotsane replaces Hendrick Mokganyetsi as the athletes' representative.
eNCA
2 days ago
- Sport
- eNCA
James Moloi re-elected president of Athletics South Africa
KEMPTON PARK - J ames Moloi was re-elected as president of Athletics South Africa. Moloi's re-election comes with most of the board he's worked with. READ: Team SA wins big at World Relay Championships John Mathane from Gauteng North takes over as vice-president from Shireen Noble and Kesaoleboga Molotsane from Athletics Free State (AFS) replaces Hendrick Mokganyetsi as the athletes' representative. ENCA's sports editor spoke spoke to SASCOC's president, Barry Hendricks.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Controversy surrounds ASA Presidential Elections amid candidate withdrawals
IT WOULDN'T be the elections for sports administrators without the bickering and the controversy, would it? Athletics South Africa's (ASA) presidential elections will take place in Johannesburg on Saturday amidst drama that has served to threaten the legitimacy of the event. As if the mudslinging among the prime candidates was not enough, there have been two federations withdrawing their nominations to the detriment of athletes who were looking for an opportunity to serve at national level. Gladwin Mzazi and Kesa Moletsane are highly-achieved stars who were nominated for roles at ASA but their provinces Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) and Athletics Free State (AFS) have made the strange decision of withdrawing all their nominees. As such their hopes of serving have been dashed. Talk in athletics is that the withdrawal decisions are part of a ply to unseat current president James Moloi, who was nominated by the two federations and will thus lose out on those votes. There is a suggestion that a group pushing for the return of former president Aleck Skhosana, who is the main challenger to Moloi, has connived to get the two provinces withdrawing their nominations. 'The elections are definitely going to happen,' a source within ASA told Independent Media. 'CGA and AFS withdrawing their nominations will not stop the elections or make them illegitimate. "We are aware that there's a group that wants James Moloi out and they are the ones behind these withdrawals. They started at CGA and then went to the Free State because those provinces nominated Moloi. But he should still get enough votes to retain the presidency.' It is believed that while there are five nominations for the position, there will be just two men standing come Saturday morning – Moloi and Skhosana likely to be those. Independent Media were told Friday that Harold Adams had sent a letter to ASA confirming his withdrawal from the presidential race and new Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) president John Mathane is also expected to do the same by the end of the day. It was not immediately clear whether current ASA vice president Shireen Noble will stay on for the race, but whatever her decision she is generally seen as not having enough support to challenge the two. It thus leaves Skhosana to try and unseat Moloi. The narrative currently being pushed is that under Moloi ASA has lacked strong leadership hence the hankering for Skhosana's return. Moloi argues though that those calling for his removal are ignoring the reality of the situation as he feels that the sport has improved in the four years he has been in charge. 'The reality is that we have done very well because not only have we got the sport back on television as we promised before we were elected but you'd have seen the huge strides our athletes have made at international events and we are looking to build on those gains,' the current incumbent said – no doubt referring to the medals won at the Olympics and international events such as the junior and youth championships as well as in the relay championships. He finds it laughably sad that those against him have gone the route of getting federations withdrawing their nominees withdrawn from the elections. 'It's totally unfair because we are not working for ourselves here. We are working for Athletics South Africa and the athletes must be our priority. "Let's not demoralize the athletes and rob people who want to serve the sport of the opportunity because withdrawing those nominations is not hurting James Moloi but other athletes who wanted to serve the sport.' The elections will be held in Kempton Park Saturday.
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Aleck Skhosana and James Moloi in two-horse race for Athletics SA president despite poor records
It will be a showdown between the incumbent Athletics SA president James Moloi and the man he defeated four years ago – Aleck Skhosana – during the federation's election on Saturday. The battle for the top seat within Athletics South Africa (ASA) is set to be a two-horse race between current president James Moloi and the man he ousted to gain the seat in 2021 – Aleck Skhosana. These are two men that have less than stellar administration records and have presided over embarrassing messes in athletics in the past. Under Skhosana's presidency, KZN Athletics went bankrupt in 2011. Allegations of fraud, corruption and mismanagement led to the board being removed in 2012, with millions of rands said to have been plundered by the federation's employees before the rot was exposed. Skhosana was later cleared of any direct wrongdoing. However, that aspect of his 12-year spell as KZN Athletics boss continues to follow him – with some remaining suspicious of him. Under Moloi, the ASA was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The deregistration in February 2025 was a result of the ASA failing to file its annual returns and pay its company fees, despite numerous reminders from the CIPC to comply. When the CIPC notified the ASA that it had been deregistered, it was because the athletics body had last filed its returns in 2021, when James Moloi became its president. Despite the gravity of the matter and the bad light in which it put the ASA, management sought to downplay the issue, with Moloi calling it a 'minor problem'. Moloi's administration pointed the finger towards Skhosana's leadership for the deregistration blunder. However, Moloi's rival is having none of it. On why he felt the need to return to the ASA, Skhosana said that he wants to replenish the ASA's public image – which has taken a blow in recent months due to some administrative ineptitude under Moloi. '[I want] to restore the image and integrity of Athletics South Africa. You saw in April in Parliament, where the sports portfolio committee declared the ASA as an embarrassment, a disgrace and a mess,' Skhosana said on Newzroom Afrika. 'So, we cannot be able to sit back and watch whilst we are capable of adding value. We once participated and we once resolved these problems in the past. I want to make South African athletics bigger and better. To restore corporate governance,' the presidency hopeful added. For Moloi, the deregistration debacle is a major blemish on his four-year tenure as the ASA boss. However, it has since been resolved. But these blemishes do not inspire any confidence. Others Moloi cut a proud fatherly figure recently as Team SA returned from the World Relays. The South Africans claimed two gold medals and a bronze at the global tournament. Despite the aforementioned administrative struggles, South Africans athletics is clearly in a healthy state currently. Whoever takes over the reins will be expected to further improve on this solid foundation instead of undoing it or stagnating it. Although others, such as Moloi's vice-president Shireen Noble, have raised their hands for the top job as well – when the ASA's quadrennial general meeting takes place on Saturday, 31 May, it is expected to be a tightly-fought contest between Skhosana and Moloi. In addition to the two favourites and Noble, Harold Adams is also in the running. John Mathane was part of the candidates list, but he has since pulled out. Mathane remains in the running for the deputy president position though. He is alongside Noble, Adams, KZN Athletics president Steve Mkasi, as well as Karabo Mabilo and Sticks Stiglingh in the race for the ASA lieutenant. Skhosana's unfinished business Skhosana first became the big boss of South African athletics in 2014. He was installed after the intervention of World Athletics following a protracted internal battle involving the executive of then president James Evans, as well as an interim board led by Sello Mokoena. The interim board had surfaced after the impeachment of Evans for allegedly using the ASA's funds for his own benefit. Evans denied this, but the intervention of World Athletics resulted in the federation convening for a special general meeting. This is when Skhosana and a new board were elected. However, they could only serve for two years since Evans had vacated his role prematurely. When that short term ended, Skhosana was re-elected – this time to serve a full term. Considering some of the cleaning up he did upon replacing Evans, Skhosana knows how to lead. But him throwing his name into the hat for re-election four years after being ousted raises the question of whether there aren't any new faces who harbour ambitions of leading such a federation. Recycled administrators For all its 'against all odds' victories on the global stage – South African sports sometimes find themselves recycling the same old faces when it comes to administrators. However, Skhosana says his desire to become the ASA president for the third time is within the constitutional parameters of the national athletics body. He also highlights some of his accomplishments during his six-year tenure. This includes being deliberate about sending South African athletes to international competitions between Olympic Games, something which did not happen as often prior to Skhosana's ascension to power. Under the KZN-born administrator talents such as Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk thrived. How much they thrived because of the ASA's leadership, or in spite of it, is debatable. Moloi, who established training camps for the athletes during his term, has promised to continue implementing similar strategic projects should he be reinstated. 'I want to go for the second term because I didn't finish my plans. So, the second term is for the implementation of whatever plans I've got and to bring in [sponsors],' Moloi told SABC Sport. 'I've been negotiating with different companies to sponsor Athletics South Africa. But if you leave or you are not there, they are not going to come because now, they are relying on you. 'So, it will be an advantage for Athletics South Africa if I can go back for the second time and implement whatever plans that I've got,' the former Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) president added. Ahead of the elections, there has been some controversy. The CGA and Athletics Free State have both pulled their nomination lists for the various positions set to be contested on Saturday. The councils of the federations say the lists were not properly vetted prior to submission. In anticipation of possible skirmishes between the various camps, Moloi wrote to the South African Police Service on 23 May, asking for 'increased police visibility' and hoping this will 'help maintain order and promote a sense of safety throughout the duration of the event'. DM
TimesLIVE
16-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Athletics SA boss James Moloi calls on companies to help support athletes
Athletics South Africa (ASA) president James Moloi has called on corporations to support athletics with funding after the success of Team SA at the World Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China. South Africa topped the medals table, clinching two golds and a bronze, and was warmly welcomed home at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday. Akani Simbine and his Olympic silver medal band conquered the planet, winning the men's 4x100m to kick-start a magical night. The men's 4x400m team, featuring two schoolboys with experienced Zakithi Nene on the final leg, stormed to victory in a 2min 57.50sec world lead and Zeney Geldenhuys anchored the women's 4x400m to bronze in a 3:24.84 national record. Watch South Africa 🇿🇦 storm to GOLD in the men's 4x100m at the World Relays in 37.61s!!🥇 First African team ever to win the 4x100m. 🥈 USA 🇺🇸 - 37.66 🥉 Canada 🇨🇦 - 38.11 — Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 11, 2025 Moloi praised the athletes for their outstanding performance and thanked the supporting partners. 'The athletes told us what they want and we will support them. We are there for our athletes,' he said. 'Thank you for supporting us — and I'm urging other corporate companies to please come forward. We are not doing this for us; we are doing it for the athletes.' Moloi emphasised that the organisation prioritises the athletes' needs, saying: 'We will just lead from behind, as long as our athletes come first. For us, this is a project that we are investing in, especially this group of youngsters going to Los Angeles. Tell us what to improve, criticise us in a positive way so that we can improve ourselves.' SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Barry Hendricks also commended the athletes, promising to source funding to support them. 'The passion with which you ran, never giving up, has instilled a seed of hope in many athletes aspiring to be what you are going to be,' he said. Hendricks thanked sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie for the department's support. McKenzie previously made a commitment to sending more athletes, including those from rural areas, to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 'We must seek and identify possible medal winners for the 2028 Olympics. Those we identify should be helped financially, given a salary, and provided with coaching to ensure they are prepared for the Olympics,' he said. 'I promise there won't be any athlete complaining about inadequate help, not under our watch. I will ensure we take no fewer than 300 athletes to Los Angeles. We can't take 134 athletes only; we must take 300 minimum. We live in the most talented country. We must invest money in our athletes.'
