30 October 2026 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) held a Wellness Day for staff members this week in an effort to increase awareness across various matters including health, workplace rules, financial literacy, among others.
The occasion kicked off with a 30 minute aerobics session offered by Virgin Active where everyone took part in the activity.
Several speakers were invited on the day to address staff members at the day-long event.
These included Tshepiso Kgapola, a Professional Social Worker, Entrepreneur and Social Development Leader; Stanley Hendricks who is a social justice advocate, a counsellor, a marriage officer, mentor, and community development practitioner and both spoke on the subject of Wellness in the Workplace.
Psychologist Dr Tshepo Tladi offered some lessons on Mental Wellness, while Aurelia Pillay dealt with Cancer Awareness for both men and women, more so because October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month in South Africa.
Liberty Life and Standard Bank also sent their representatives to give staff members a talk on Financial Wellness, while Tshegofatso Maringa gave a talk on the ins and outs of Life Coaching.
“The purpose of a Wellness Day is the holistic approach towards employees, by building sustainable healthy habits to strive for a workplace balance. Which is why EAP (Employee Assistance Programmes) are crucial and vital in every organisation. The Wellness of an employee whether emotional or physical affects their overall performance of an individual and attitude towards their work, other employees and promotes productivity,” said SAFA Human Resources Manager, Lerato Damba.
“An employee on general spends all most 80% of their time at work, so the aim is to boost morale, give recognition where it’s due and build a culture where employees not only enjoy their work but also go the extra mile. Employers need to ensure that they also invest in their employees through training and skills development initiatives amongst others. This has a ripple effect as it reduces absenteeism and staff turnover. It also sends a message that we care about the employee… you are important to us.”
The Wellness Day was also used to celebrate birthdays of staff members for the months of September and October.
At the end, there was a networking session included visits to exhibition stalls put up by several companies – Standard Bank, Medihelp, BusaMed, Momentum and Southern Sun.
SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan said the day was a success and SAFA remains committed to health, workplace rules, financial literacy, among others.
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