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SOCCER in the Eastern Cape appears headed for upheaval ahead of the South African Football Association (Safa) special general meeting on Saturday.

A war of words has erupted between the seven Safa regional presidents and provincial representative Eddie du Plooy.

All seven have confirmed they had problems working with Du Plooy, who calls himself a loyal servant of the game.

They cited difficulty working with the veteran administrator as a motivating factor behind their push for the amendments to the association’s constitution.

The meeting, to be held in Johannesburg, was called after 34 of Safa’s 52 countrywide regions signed a petition requesting a special meeting to adopt the amendments.

Motions up for discussion deal with the composition of the National Executive Committee (NEC), a structure the regions feel needs to be more in touch with grassroots soccer. (See sidebar for details on the motions).

The regional presidents say current election processes made it difficult for the provincial representatives to be held accountable by their constituencies.

They also want provincial representation to be increased from one to two because of the vast soccer spread in the country.

Instead of assisting the regions and being their link with the national structure, they claim Du Plooy is ineffective and a law unto himself.

“He’s been put where he is to get mandates from us and work for the betterment and development of football here, not make decisions for us,” said Nelson Mandela Bay region president Johnson Kula. “And it is our contention he is not capable of leading us. In fact,” Kula continued, “this has been the same problem encountered by many other provinces around the country.

“It’s because of instances like this that most regions around the country signed the petition calling for a special general meeting where these issues and others can be discussed and rectified.”

Du Plooy refuted the allegations “with the contempt they deserve”. Hitting back at the presidents, he said the allegations had never been brought up by them before and the first he knew about them was when contacted by the Daily Dispatch.

“I have never let football down. I am honest to football and have never lied,” he said. “You can ask these same people who say I am dictating why they never bothered to reply to some of my calls to attend PEC (Provincial Executive Council) meetings when I called them, but they can call the media and say these things about me.”

A delegation comprising of Kula, Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, and a third unnamed person from Gauteng handed over the petition demanding the special general meeting.

The proposal suggests provinces be allowed to elect their own representatives through proper constituted elections – something they say would make representatives more accountable.

Nonkonyana said the current state of soccer in regions all over the country was deteriorating because of inefficient integration – caused by the current setup – within the national structure.

“Regions, the custodians of our football at an essential level, are the ones who have to live with this difficult reality,” according to Nonkonyana. “The regions need to be strengthened by representation and resources. They need to be the voices of all the football-loving people of this country.”