The Premier Soccer League (PSL) board of governors caught fans by surprise on Wednesday when it announced that Trevor Phillips would return as chief executive officer. National sports council chief Mvuzo Mbebe and businessman Khehla Mthembu had been favourites to fill the post, which had been vacant for almost a year.
Phillips was first appointed to this position in 1996 when the PSL — which replaced the National Soccer League — was formed.
The Briton ensured that the league was run smoothly in his two-and-a-half-year tenure.
Phillips brings back to the league the administration skills he acquired as a marketing director in the English Football Association, co-director of Promark Sports International and his previous knowledge of running the league in South Africa.
Among the new CEO’s tasks, when he assumes his position on November 1, will be to appoint a chief of security, public relations officer and a new chairman of the league after the board of governors could not accept Mandla Mchunu’s four-month absence from this position.
Phillips needs to help restore the tainted image of South African soccer. In order to do this he must first get the fixture list in order. The season has already been disrupted by two clubs — Free State Stars and Ria Stars — dropping out of the league days before the scheduled kick-off.
International fixtures and cup competitions mean that some clubs have yet to play a league game, although the season eventually began — after a three-week delay — in late August.
Phillips will have to live up to his reputation of being a no-nonsense person who the board of governors cannot manipulate. He impressed in his previous tenure when he negotiated large sponsorships from big corporations and made sure that all clubs were subsidised.
The details of Phillips’s contract are yet to be formulated.