The new diski millionaires

When Patrice Motsepe and Sundowns announced that the mining magnate would be taking over as the majority shareholder of the club, local football’s evolution from a working-class industry to a real player in the national economy was finally complete.

The game that had once been an outlet for marginalised communities to have something to be proud of had suddenly gone corporate.

For a long time football has been like the taxi industry, a black, upper working class’s industry and source of recreation. Not any more. The game of billions has, in South Africa, become the game of millionaires.

Motsepe has joined the growing ranks of millionaires and astute business people at the helm of the game.

The likes of Kaizer Motaung, who sold 40% of his shares to Primedia for R40-million, and Irvin Khoza of Orlando Pirates, who entered into an out-of-court settlement with the taxman regarding about R7-million in unpaid taxes, no longer have to feel lonely among the plebs.

The two superpowers, along with the Krok brothers — who made their millions selling skin lightening creams to natives who wanted a lighter hue and who are now involved in gaming and casino operations — have, in Motsepe, one more member of their class.

This season, with the promotion of Silver Stars to the Premier Soccer League (PSL), two more millionaires — information technology tycoon Robert Gumede (if the deal goes through) and Larry Brookstone, an insurance magnate — have joined the growing moneyed, soccer-club-owning class.

Sisa Bikitsha, the boss of newly promoted Zulu Royals, is intent on using the wealth created from shipping, numerous fried-chicken outlets around the Eastern Cape and poultry and vegetable farming operations to return the tradition-steeped Usuthu to the soccer power it once was.

Bikitsha took over the club from financial services millionaire Dave King, who made the taxman unhappy by being R900-million in arrears.

The rumour mill has it that another mining giant and political heavyweight, Tokyo Sexwale, is interested in buying out the Moroka Swallows franchise from banking tycoon Neil Bernstein and German property development and real estate mogul Dieter Bock.

The Kunene brothers, who have interests in soft-drink bottling and distribution, defence electronics and telecommunications, financial services and motor dealership, are also said to be interested in buying the ‘Beautiful Birds”.

And Nail boss Saki Macozoma’s name has been linked with relegated Bush Bucks.

Kickoff magazine editor Richard Maguire, who did his master’s thesis on Orlando Pirates, sees the move as a continuation, albeit more sophisticated, of local businessmen and philanthropists becoming patrons of sporting organisations.

He tells of the early days of Pirates, who benefited from the goodwill of a local businessman, Bethuel Mokgosinyane. Mokgosinyane bought the teenage boys their first black-and-white kit and set them on their way to the legendary status they now occupy in South African soccer history.

The club never forgot his kindness and he was later named Pirates’ life president.

‘In the 1950s there was Dave ‘Bra Day’ Motsamai, a bootlegger and shebeen king. He was a very popular guy who used his money to muscle himself into the scene. He was booted out in around 1961 and formed his own club, Black Pirates, which never amounted to much.

‘Next there was Elijah Msibi, a flashy guy who drove the ‘big six mabone’ [the big American cars so named because of the six headlights] cars. He saw football as a way of extending his influence in the community,” says Maguire.

Across the Jukskei, former Mamelodi Sundowns owner Zola Mahobe was perhaps the first of the modern era bosses to raise the bar by splashing out big bucks.

After acquiring the club from struggling Mamelodi doctors, Mahobe transformed the club from perennial relegation candidates to the superpower it is today.

No player was beyond the reach of Mahobe’s chequebook. Word in soccer circles is that when he announced that he was interested in buying Kaizer Chiefs flying winger Nelson ‘Teenage” Dladla, Chiefs put a R500 000 price tag on their most prized asset, convinced that it would scare off Mahobe.

It was only when Mahobe arrived at Kaizer Chiefs offices with a briefcase full of cash that Chiefs insisted the left winger known as ‘Botsosto” was not for sale — at any price.

Mahobe’s demise came when the police discovered that his cash fund was due to him — in connivance with his bank employee girlfriend Snowy Moshoeshoe — having defrauded Standard Bank of millions of rands.

Maguire says many of the new bosses, such as Gumede and Brookstone, have identified an ethnic and regional support base which they believe can be used to make up ground on Pirates and Chiefs.

Chicco Twala, a former co-owner of Swallows and the now defunct Ria Stars, says running a football club requires deep pockets, especially when the sponsors queue up only at Pirates’ and Chiefs’ doors.

‘Many premier league clubs survive on the R250 000 monthly grant. In our case, we had overheads running at

between R600 000 and R700 000 a month. We had a huge deficit and we realised that we would soon end up in trouble with the receiver [of revenue].

‘Many clubs use the money meant for PAYE to pay salaries. The unions create an impression that club bosses are making money, I can tell you now it is not true. Most [club owners] do it for the love of the game and use the money to run the clubs that they should be spending on their children.”

Twala says teams earn between R17 000 and R20 000 from gate takings per game, which is still far too little to run a club.

Twala doubts if the emergence of the new order will change much because clubs traditionally promote their own interests and not those of the league.

But Former Orlando Pirates captain and Bafana Bafana star John ‘Dungi” Moeti, who now champions the South African Players’ Union’s cause, says things will only improve if the new entrants bring with them the skills gained in the corporate sector.

‘Business principles are the same everywhere, whether it is mining or football. For our football to grow we need people who have a background in business management.”

Moeti hopes other football bosses who have not been exposed to things like labour law and general industrial peace initiatives will learn from their peers in the boardroom.

‘If business people buy shares that will give the game greater impetus. Currently you have some people who are the sole owners of their clubs and that suppresses its growth as a brand.

‘It is still debatable whether clubs should go the stock exchange route or have clubs as public companies. But I believe that would enable football to realise its potential,” says Moeti.

PSL CEO Trevor Phillips expects the new breed to effect a few changes. ‘I am obviously pleased to see new blood coming through. I hope they will bring with them the expertise and business acumen they have displayed building and running their own businesses into their clubs. That should have a knock-on effect on the PSL itself.”

Phillips says the days of clubs being run from the boot of a car are over. ‘Improved quality of ownership is key to the future development of professional soccer here.”

Not all the millionaires are in the game for the bucks. Says Brookstone: ‘I am not into football as a business venture. It started as a hobby and then it evolved into what it is today.

‘I started with an amateur team, later bought a team in the Vodacom [second division]. When we got to the first division, we saw the opportunity and went for it.”

Brookstone feels at home among the other club owners. ‘I find the people at the PSL top class. Irvin Khoza and Trevor Phillips are doing a great job — I am really impressed. Most of the club owners would hold their own on any board of a corporation.”

He says for soccer to unlock its true value, the corporate world has to change its perception about how the game is governed. ‘The corporate world is uninformed and prejudiced. They see football as backward because they have not yet come up to speed with the changes that are happening in the PSL.”

Brookstone estimates that a PSL outfit needs at least R400 000 a month to cover its overheads, but securing between R5-million and R6-million a year would ensure that there was always a contingency fund in place in case of a need.

Player agent Mike Makaab agrees that making money is an unlikely motive for buying professional clubs. ‘Most people are involved in soccer for the love of the game. It is a very difficult industry to make money from.”

The former Pirates coach rules out business personalities being attracted into the game to make a quick buck selling their top players to the overseas market.

‘The market for players had changed a lot. There are many unemployed players in Europe [thus] it is not easy for local players to get in.”

Makaab says if the clubs do sell their most prized assets, they could ‘realistically” expect to earn between $100 000 and $500 000 a player depending on the country and the player’s profile.

At the current exchange rate, selling a player at the premium rate would reap a club benefits almost equal to winning all three major competitions, including the league championship, in a season.

Rand Afrikaans University chief director of sport Professor Wim Hollander welcomes the emergence of the millionaires provided they will promote the sport as a whole and not only their teams.

‘The new owners should not only want to dominate but promote the game as a brand. They should also contribute to the national strategy which entails talent development and social responsibility,” he says.

New ideas in the local game have, however, not always been welcome.

While still a Pirates player, Kaizer Motaung returned from a spell with Atlanta Chiefs in the United States. He suggested that Bucs adopt some of the administrative concepts he had learnt in the US, but Pirates’ then chairperson Mike Tseka and his committee dismissed him.

Motaung later implemented the ideas himself and turned a selection side made up of frustrated footballers into one of the most successful brands in South Africa — Kaizer Chiefs.