Ellen Chiwenga v. South African Football Association (SAFA)

FIFA match agent Ellen Chiwenga arranged Banyana Banyana's October 2024 international friendlies against England and Denmark, initiating talks with the English FA and coordinating the logistics needed to bring both fixtures to fruition. When SAFA did not pay her fee, it argued no enforceable agreement existed because no formal written mandate had ever been signed between the two sides. FIFA's Football Tribunal initially agreed and ruled in SAFA's favour; Chiwenga appealed to CAS.

The CAS sole arbitrator rejected the missing-signature defence, finding that the conduct of both parties — not a signed document — had established a binding contract, pointing to what the award called multiple conclusive acts of cooperation between them. A WhatsApp message from SAFA vice-president Natascia Tschiclas to Chiwenga in November 2024, which appeared to acknowledge the outstanding debt, weighed against SAFA's position; Tschiclas had indicated she would attend the hearing but did not appear. SAFA separately argued that Article 46 of its own statutes barred it from appointing a match agent without approval from its International Affairs Committee, but the arbitrator found SAFA had misread its own rule and that its refusal to sign the mandate had no legal basis. The arbitrator also noted that SAFA had never disputed the quality of Chiwenga's work or the amount she invoiced at any earlier stage of the dispute.

CAS upheld Chiwenga's appeal in full, ordering SAFA to pay her £18,941 plus 5% annual interest running from October 2024 — a total exceeding R510,000 once converted. SAFA publicly accepted the ruling, telling South African outlet FARPost it would not appeal further.