When Tokyo Sexwale sits down in the foyer of the Sandton Crowne Plaza hotel in Johannesburg to talk football, he lifts his right foot towards his chest and gesticulates while saying, “Isoccer yimi — I am soccer, ngikhule ngiteka itennis — I used to play with the tennis ball.”
Life in the suburbs denies him the chance to see young boys playing in the streets with a “tennis ball”, but the decision to sponsor soccer to the tune of R11-million a year may give him the opportunity to bond with the masses again.
This year a new trend has become apparent ‒ black business barons are finding their balls: three have already entered the game as sponsors or owners. Sexwale has sponsored the Premier Soccer League (PSL) first division— now called the Mvela Golden League after his holding company, Mvelaphanda. This year mining magnate Patrice Motsepe took full control of Sundowns and last month Mzi Khumalo bought the flagging Durban team Golden Arrows.
The motivation cannot be money ‒ the PSL is in dire financial straits. Instead, it seems to be the black corporate social investment of choice and an opportunity for the administration of the game in South Africa.
Football has for long been mired in scandal and corruption. In eight years there have been three commissions to try and straighten it out. First was the Pickard Commission in 1997, which looked into soccer maladministration. The Ngoepe Commission dealt with security at stadiums following the death of 43 people in 2001, then came the Motimele report whose damning findings were not made public until the Mail & Guardian exclusively reported on its findings (“Secret report exposed”, July 23).
This year’s Operation Dribble is an extension of the Motimele inquiry, the only difference being the inclusion of police in the probe into bribery and corruption in the refereeing department.
South African football has been struggling to shrug off its image of amateurism and to reinvent itself as a professional sport, strictly adhering to the principles of corporate governance.
Historically only a few clubs have benefited from sponsorship, resulting in huge disparities between clubs run by soccer bosses, mostly from Gauteng, and those on the outskirts. This imbalance has led to the creation of a clique that protects minority interests.
The value of Sexwale, Motsepe and Khumalo in various capacities in football could signal the beginning of the elbowing out of Irvin Khoza. Khoza has centralised authority around himself by being able to influence decisions on appointments to key positions.
Club owners must take their share of the blame for the way in which soccer is run, but they are in untenable positions. Their weak financial backgrounds, and inability to attract sponsorship for their clubs, force them to ally with those they believe can look after them.
For example, Mato Madlala, the former owner of Durban-based Arrows — now the property of Khumalo — was regarded as Khoza’s “right-hand lady”, someone who never dissented. Her departure paralyses Khoza’s cabal — though he is a philanthropist of note who retains his tight grip on power .
In structure the South African Football Association (Safa) is like a knitting club in that it is virtually unregulated.
The three business barons could introduce key corporate governance principles into the management of the game, which could work more effectively than the attempts of three successive sports ministers.
The late Steve Tshwete, who was known for his fiery approach to problems, took a confrontational route in trying to address the problems besetting football. By establishing the Pickard Commission, he naively worked with officials whose agendas he did not understand.
His successor, Ngconde Balfour, spent more time taking calls from the SABC for comment on live games than dealing with the issues tarnishing the game.
The jury is out on incumbent Makhenkhesi Stofile who, without acquainting himself with Safa finances, backed a controversial move to pay bonuses totalling more than R30-million to World Cup 2010 bid executives, Khoza, Molefi Oliphant and Danny Jordaan.
The entry of the businessmen triad into football may herald a shift in the balance of power.
Khumalo is a shrewd businessperson and his ownership of a Durban side could see clubs from the coast return to the force they were in the Seventies and Eighties. Motsepe’s impressive track record in business could help with the modernisation of soccer in South Africa, as could Sexwale’s.
Moreover, because they are independently wealthy and not dependent on the football establishment, they may be able to speak out and clean up.
Khoza and his clique have always used sponsorship endorsements to deflect criticism. The reluctance of sponsors to publicly criticise football administrators has contributed to the poor state of the game.
With the potential financial spin-offs of the World Cup in six years’ time beckoning sponsors, they need to be wary of upsetting the apple cart. But Sexwale has already voiced his support for Operation Dribble, calling it a step in the right direction — one of the first times a soccer boss has spoken out.
To ensure that their purchases are more than just glory buys, the three businessmen will have to work together to resurrect local football and attract apathetic supporters back to the stadiums.
If they succeed, soccer could enjoy a renaissance that will be critical in the run-up to 2010.