Trevor Phillips, ”The British Bulldog”, will leave the Premier Soccer League (PSL) when his contract expires in November — muzzled, it would seem, by what the forthright CEO described on Monday as a post with ”enormous responsibility and relatively limited authority”.
And while Phillips says he believes he will be leaving the PSL ”on a sound footing”, the departure of the 64-year-old Englishman at the end of his second tenure with the controlling body of South African soccer could precipitate a similar crisis to the one that emerged after he left in 2000.
Phillips helped map the PSL’s beginnings after its inauguration in 1996, but the organisation floundered under a succession of CEOs with little of the experience or expertise required for the role.
He was brought back to avert a looming financial crisis and general disarray in the organisation — and observers are wondering uneasily whether an untimely decline will not start over again as the challenging task of organising the 2010 World Cup takes shape.
”I think it will be different this time,” said Phillips.
”The league’s finances are pretty solid right now and there is a degree of stability to the organisation. I’m sure they’ll find someone capable of continuing the job once I have gone.
”From an administrative point of view I think the PSL is OK. The challenge that lies ahead is to lift standards and insert a degree of maturity on the playing field.”
Phillips said he is a firm believer in appointing the best man for the job as his successor — whether he comes from overseas or is a local official.
”But I can tell you from experience it takes a good 18 months or more for a newcomer to the country to find his feet in South African soccer — and this is a factor that certainly has to be taken into account.”
Pointedly, Phillips suggested the new CEO would need to have the full support and backing of PSL chairperson and Orlando Pirates supremo Irvin Khoza and the almost equally powerful chairperson of Kaizer Chiefs, Kaizer Motaung.
As for his own future, he said it is his intention to remain in South Africa — ”for at least a few more years”.
”I’d like to retain a connection with soccer,” he added, ”but I’ll have to see what comes along.” – Sapa