GABORONE: Senior figures in the southern African football association COSAFA have indicated that Danny Jordaan was never in with a chance of ousting Seychelles’ Suketu Patel as president at the weekend.

Barry Rukoro, general secretary of the Namibia Football Association, considered that Jordaan should have pulled out of the race much earlier than he did, barely hours before the vote.

Rukoro said: “There was no way Danny was going to make it. COSAFA’s executive committee met in Pretoria last month where it was decided that Suketu would be re-elected for the sake of continuity. That was when Danny should have pulled out of the race.”

Patel had been in Gaborone almost two weeks before the vote; Jordaan flew in only the day previous.

Swaziland Football Association’s Tim Shongwe said: “At the same meeting in Pretoria Patel asked the executive if there was anyone who wanted to take over the baton from him as Cosafa president. His argument was that he was the first vice-president of the African confederation. Danny had no chance against him and it came as no surprise to us when SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani announced their withdrawal.”

Rukoro added: “We do not have a problem with South Africa as a country but the individual. If SAFA had nominated any other person and not Danny, we would have voted for him or her. The problem with Danny is that he made a lot of promises in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup but has not delivered on a single one.”

Jordaan insisted he had not nominated himself for the COSAFA post, adding: “I was nominated by SAFA. I decided to withdraw because people promised us votes but their body language suggested otherwise.”