Safa: Status quo remains on local football

The SA Football Association (Safa) says the prospect of resuming football competitions in the country will be largely influenced by “our collective resolve to flatten the curve and reduce new infections and deaths of the Covid-19 coronavirus”.

Safa has reiterated that the federation, as the custodians of football in the country, will rely on the directive from the government on when it would be safe to resume domestic competitions.

As things stand, it appears that football could wait a little longer after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his address to the nation on Thursday that sports events were among those that “will not be allowed until it is deemed safe for them to continue”.

In a long statement issued by its communications department, Safa detailed the federation’s overview on the impact of the virus and the subsequent lockdown.

The federation presented different scenarios around the world and how South Africa was impacted across the topics ranging from domestic and international competitions, to sponsorship and financial loses as a result of Covid-19.

“Domestic leagues in most countries have all been postponed to a future date. Belgium and the Netherlands have accepted that it was impossible for them to complete their leagues and have decided to cancel them. Suggestions in England are that because Liverpool is leading the log by more than 20 points, they should be awarded the title [and] similar suggestions are being made here,” read the statement.

“When considering [financial] losses to South African football, we must recognise that European clubs and national associations have five major revenue streams, while South African football has only two.

“The Uefa Champions League has a total prize money for a club winning all its Champions League matches including the final of R1.6 billion, and the European Champions League final itself carries a prize money of R80 million. No federation or domestic league on the continent carries that amount of money.”

Safa also pointed out that the broadcast revenue environment in South Africa only had one significant contributor in the form of pay-per-view channel SuperSport.

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“SA football and sport in general will have a major impact and subsequent loses if SuperSport’s ability to continue to pay broadcast rights fees is compromised. We can therefore expect revenue losses of 40% to 60% to sport if this happens.”

For now, Safa said they understood the first priority was to get club football under way as soon as it was possible, but they would await announcements from the government and Fifa to indicate when it would be safe to resume the domestic competition.

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