Delays in moving the administration of Bafana Bafana to a professional body such as the South African Football Association’s (Safa) commercial wing are exacting a price.
Safa further tarnished its public image this week with the indecision over whether the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup — which Bafana Bafana lost 1-0 in London on Wednesday in front of less than 5 000 spectators — would go ahead.
The Egyptian team had threatened not to honour the fixture because they had not been paid their guaranteed appearance fee.
This latest debacle has renewed calls for Safa CEO Raymond Hack to resign or be sacked. Safa’s detractors say the association continues to degrade the national team as a brand. Others question the wisdom of letting the national team play outside the country when Safa should be ensuring that the country gets as much exposure as it can as a build-up to the 2010 World Cup.
Safa agreed to give the match to organisers Star Meridian Sports because, that way, Safa would not incur any costs. The mistake Hack made was not asking for upfront payment. Star Meridian Sports then tried to resell the match, while promising Safa that everything was okay.
Other developments this week regarding the future administration of the national team are, however, encouraging.
The Mail & Guardian recently reported that the commercial wing’s board, which includes members from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and Safa, would go into a two-day meeting on Monday to straighten out areas of conflict between the two bodies and start formulating policy for the new company.
That meeting has been cancelled as a result of behind-the-scenes discussions between the stakeholders.
Commercial-wing chairperson Mwelo Nonkonyana says it is likely that Safa will provide start-up capital of R100 000 for the first six months of operation while the company looks for its own sponsors.
South African Airways, which already bankrolls the lucrative Supa8 knockout cup for the PSL, is rumoured to be interested in backing the venture.
Nonkonyana says one of the priorities is for the commercial wing to find its own offices. Safa remains uncertain about what to do with its house in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.
The Safa executive seems reluctant to allow the commercial wing to use the house because it has apparently been earmarked for the use of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who takes up his position next year.
However, word from the coach’s camp is that Parreira wants to stay in a secure environment such as a flat or townhouse complex because he does not want to be responsible for security.
Nonkonyana said for the company to start its work without further delay he needs to appoint a managing director, CEO, communications manager and marketing staff.
Nonkonyana, a Safa executive member, is to meet Safa management on Monday to discuss the way forward for the commercial wing.