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The fight that ensued this week following the announcement by the SA Football Association (Safa) of a R50 million OUTsurance sponsorship for referees has once again brought the bubbling tension with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to the surface.
It also brought into sharp focus the decades-long animosity, real or perceived, between the two strongmen of South African football – Safa president Danny Jordaan and PSL chair Irvin Khoza.
The league’s reaction to the announcement was to call an urgent executive committee meeting, after which they sent a letter to their member clubs stating: “Sponsors of the league have raised concerns regarding the reported relationship between Safa and OUTsurance. The executive committee met urgently today to consider the matter. The league [and the league sponsor’s] concerns were raised with Safa today in an attempt to avoid any potential disruption at matches in the coming weekend. A formal response from Safa is awaited. Members will be kept informed on developments.”
The letter was signed by PSL acting chief executive Mato Madlala.
Safa then came back with a hard-hitting statement in which it minced no words in telling the PSL who the football boss in the country was.
In a strongly worded statement, Safa labelled PSL’s reaction as “absurd and nonsensical”.
“At the outset, we place on record that, in terms of article 10 of the Fifa statutes, Safa as the member association of Fifa is responsible for organising and supervising football in all of its forms in South Africa. In other words, Safa is the custodian of football in South Africa.
“It is Safa that has licensed the National Soccer League [NSL], which is a stakeholder, to administer and run professional football in South Africa. On the contrary, it is not the NSL that runs and controls football in our country and Safa is a subordinate to the NSL. This must be made absolutely clear,” read the statement.
This was followed by a meeting between the two organisations’ high-ranking officials in Sandton on Friday.
In attendance was Khoza, Peter Mancer and lawyer Michael Murphy, while Safa was represented by acting president Gay Mokoena and vice-president Ria Ledwaba.
The meeting concluded that Khoza would take the matter up with Jordaan, who was on a Confederation of African Football assignment in Ivory Coast.
According to a one-page document, signed by Murphy and sent to clubs after Friday’s meeting, Khoza “stressed the risks of the arrangement”, in reference of the OUTsurance deal.
A peeved PSL club official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were still in the dark over whether the refereers would use the new uniforms in their fixtures.
Safa also reminded the PSL that it had “not obtained permission from Safa to enter into any sponsorship agreements”.
“We hasten to point out that if it is the stated intention of the sponsors of the league that it wants to monopolise advertising space in both the print and broadcasting space, Safa will not hesitate to invite all sponsors and stakeholders to a meeting to address their concerns to find a solution in the best interests of football.”
Amid the drama, a few referees that City Press spoke to ahead of the fixtures only confirmed an instruction from Safa that nobody use any kit other than the OUTsurance branded uniform.
They felt they were used as pawns in the midst of the heavy crossfire between the two organisations.
When contacted yesterday, Madlala said: “I don’t have a comment.”
Safa spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi said he could only officially state Safa’s position on the matter.
“We released the statement and we stand by it,” he said.
Jordaan and Safa chief executive Dennis Mumble were conspicuous by their absence during the well-attended launch at Safa House in Nasrec on Tuesday. Instead, Ledwaba unveiled the sponsorship.
Mumble is said to be on leave.
In a statement sent to City Press by Absa’s head of communication, the bank urged the PSL and Safa to resolve the matter in a manner that works for all parties concerned.
“We do not interfere in the administration of football or any other sporting code we sponsor. To the extent that any sporting code or body we support through sponsorship has a disagreement with any other party, it is their responsibility to resolve such disagreement. As a sponsor of the Absa Premiership, we can only protect our rights in terms of the legal agreements we have in place.
“We believe that a good working relationship between the PSL and Safa is in the best interest of football in the country.”
Referees wore uniforms with the sponsor’s logo in yesterday’s matches.
