Pretoria - The South African Football Association (SAFA) is warning parents not to be tricked by fly-by- night football academies which are operating across the country.
This comes after SAFA received information that some parents are registering their children with football academies which are not endorsed by the association.
"There are unscrupulous people taking advantage of the school's registration period by promising parents successful football careers for their children. SAFA is appealing to parents to be cautious when dealing with academies," said SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani.
He said SAFA was disturbed by reports that parents were registering children with football academies that were not endorsed by the association and in the process, losing money and putting their children's lives in danger as such establishments were run by dubious people.
"We are appealing to parents to deal with academies that are linked to registered football clubs; and those that are endorsed by SAFA," Nematandani said.
He added that they would be conducting an audit of all football academies in the country in the next few months. This will be done by SAFA's technical department and spearheaded by technical director, Serame Letsoaka.
The audit will culminate in a new licensing system for football academies and development centres in the country.
