In a quiz, which its purveyors sell as ”a quiz for people who know everything”, contestants are asked to name the one spectator sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.
Lo and behold, the answer is not local football. But anyone who has been following the broadcast saga between the Premier Soccer League (PSL), the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and SuperSport would have to be given half a point for making a reasonable guess by suggesting football.
This week, the SABC and the PSL called a media conference at which the salivating hacks hoped to get to know how the rights were won and lost. Instead, it turned out to be a half-time briefing and whatever tough talk might have emanated could come to mean nothing at the end of the match.
Each side’s supporters made attempts to reassure the gathered hacks that they were leading at the break.
But while the offside, direct and indirect place kicks are often a cause for confusion — even among those who fully understand the game — there is never any debate about the game being over only when the referee blows the whistle three times.
And so we wait for the next half and, as suggested by the SABC’s group chief executive, Dali Mpofu, the possibility of extra time and, if need be, penalties (I suspect he meant court action) if the stalemate persists at the end of the match.
It is still anybody’s game and the one with the best game plan, which in this case should mean legal strategy, might very well clinch the tussle that promises to be as tough as many of the classics witnessed on the actual football pitch.
It is against this background that clubs are doing their best to control what they can: their budgets and the relationship with their players.
Having bought and sold players, club bosses will hold a workshop this weekend at which they will be brought up to speed with the developments between their principals and those who control the broadcast media.
Though the PSL constitution calls for at least two workshops a season, this one is set for higher than usual excitement, not only because of the battle for the TV rights, but also because of the growing influence of the players’ union.
PSL chief operations officer Ronnie Schloss says the workshops are aimed at preparing teams for the new season and informing them about changes in the rules and constitution of the league.
Schloss says these include the fact that, in terms of the law, 18-year-olds are now legally regarded as adults, which means they can lawfully sign contracts without the knowledge or permission of their parents.
The South African Football Players’ Union (Safpu) has, in an as yet unseen show of unity with its nemesis, the PSL, supported the league in its attempts to get the best TV deal, believing it will benefit the players in the long run.
The club bosses will, however, return to the more familiar ground of seeing Safpu as spoilers when the union tables its proposals for a pension fund, medical aid, insurance and a minimum wage for players.
It has been the most exciting PSL season. And, just think, the first ball is yet to be kicked.