Martin Gillingham athletics
The preparations of more than 30 South African athletes for this year_s world
championships have been plunged into crisis following allegations of corruption
and financial mismanagement against senior Athletics South Africa (ASA) officials, which prompted the postponement of the team announcement.
The announcement, which was to have included the launch of the team sponsorship
as well as the listing of a squad of 28 names, was due to have been made at a
media conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday. But it was postponed at just one
hour_s notice following allegations published in The Citizen, which claim that
leaked documents _suggest_ R9-million has gone missing from ASA_s accounts.
Now Absa has admitted it is considering pulling the plug on the deal, thought to be worth more than R1-million. Although the bank is four years into a five-year
sponsorship of South African athletics, worth R44-million, ASA chief executive
Banele Sindani admits the new deal is vital if South Africa are to send a full
team to Edmonton in August.
_We knew that what we were going to announce would be overshadowed by the allegations and all the mud flying around with it,_ said Absa general manager of marketing Angela Bruwer. _We will have to sit down over the next few weeks to
decide what we are going to do. We believe you are innocent until proven guilty.
But if strong evidence comes out it will impact on our decision._
So instead of Wednesday_s big announcement, ASA_s top two officials were summoned to appear in front of the sports minister in Cape Town. They emerged
from that meeting early the same evening with, for now at least, the support of
Ngconde Balfour. According to Balfour_s representative Graham Abrahams there is
_absolutely nothing to act on_.
He said: _The minister has called on The Citizen or any individual with substantive evidence to present it to us. If this happens, and we believe the
evidence merits it, then we shall appoint an independent company do a financial
audit._
The pair called to Cape Town were ASA president Leonard Chuene and Sindani. They
have protested their innocence but it will do little to allay the fears of those
involved in a sport that stands looking over the precipice. ASA_s biggest stakeholders, sponsors Engen and Absa, are among those wondering what revelations the next leak will bring.
Brad Bergh, Engen_s corporate sponsorship executive, said: _We have no problem
with ASA. All our programmes have always been run professionally._
But he added: _We would have to assess the situation should the speculation turn
out to be true._
So who are Chuene and Sindani? Chuene has been ASA president since his election
in 1995. Ironically, the man he beat to the post then, former Johannesburg sports director Danie Malan, has had to face charges of corruption and financial
mismanagement, too. He was cleared by his employers, the Johannesburg City Council, in the face of evidence he had used a company owned by his wife to siphon off funds raised in sponsorship for the 1994 World Corporate Games.
Since 1995 Chuene_s rise to prominence in athletics circles has been meteoric.
He holds numerous portfolios, the most prestigious of which is his membership of the elite council of the International Amateur Athletic Federation.
Despite Chuene_s international profile, it is Sindani who is the brains of the
operation. He emerged first in 1992 as the head of ASA_s development foundation
_ his appointment was widely regarded as the trade-off that ensured South African athletics_ return to international competition in time for the first
African Unity meeting in Dakar in April 1992 _ then graduated to general secretary in 1994, by which time Bernard Rose had been appointed chief executive.
He succeeded Rose in 1999.
Rose left ASA on a sound financial footing but there have been concerns about
the management skills and methods of his successor. Sindani is a political animal and, although intelligent and articulate, lacks a genuine empathy with
athletics and, perhaps, business as well. His management style is autocratic and
he has a volatile temper.
So what is in store for the Edmonton hopefuls whose future seems almost as uncertain as Sindani_s and Chuene_s? In anticipation of Wednesday_s team announcement, Sindani had claimed that athletes had nothing to fear despite rumours of an impending crisis. _If you_re in the squad and stay injury-free and
do not suffer a major slump in form, then you_ll go to Edmonton,_ he said on
Tuesday.
Sindani, as well as launching the Absa sponsorship, had been preparing to announce a squad of 28. On Tuesday, he also had been swift to allay concerns
about the not-so-subtle distinction between _a squad_ and _a team_. He said:
_Almost all the athletes who are named in the squad will make the team. What
would cause us to remove athletes from the squad?
_The only things are lack of fitness or lack of form. By leaving the final selection to the last possible moment all we_re trying to do is give the athletes the greatest possible window of opportunity._
Whether this 28-athlete squad will ever be announced is now open to question.
But if it does it will make interesting reading. Half of the athletes fall into
the _A_ category, which, according to ASA_s six-page selection policy, are deemed to be _automatic selections_. The other 14, along with an additional 14
who were also due to have been listed on Wednesday as _special cases_, would
have to wait until the eve of the team_s departure on or around July 23 for the
holding camp in Canada before learning whether they_re going.
Of course, the other, but unavoidable, reason some athletes in the squad will
have be left at home is the IAAF_s rule that limits each country to a maximum of three athletes per event at its world championships.
The other decisive factor, of course, is whether Absa chooses to go through with
its sponsorship. And that must now be in some doubt.
ENDS