The one commendable thing that Safa has introduced was that of a status which cannot be sold within the first two seasons after purchase – but is it logical if the sponsors are not coming to the party?
And when I mean sponsors, I mean the Motsepe League Foundation which is prominently splashed on the chest of the jerseys of the Second Division clubs across all provinces.
The narrative of funding, or the lack thereof has again surfaced of how costly it has become to run an amateur club – hence the reason owners sell as soon as reality hits them deep in their pockets.
This ultimately forces owners and consortiums to sell as it is not viable in the long term if there are no funds coming in from the organisation and the league’s main sponsor.
Even the infamous characters that have surfaced in the amateur scenes found it too tough to sustain their so-called investment with ‘dirt money’ over the long term due to the financial demands ultimately forcing them to sell.
It is estimated that clubs spend between R30 000 and R60 000 per season on transport alone with no grants paid to clubs – for whatever reason.
This phenomenon unfolds in the Hollywoodbets Third Division as well. This (amateur) league, known as the graveyard league, produces outstanding football every week hence clubs and players deserve more from an organisational perspective. Again the sponsors branding and advertising get splashed all over the Mother City.
What do they really give clubs in return other than just one set of jerseys.
Pertaining to the more influential Second Division, what happened to the traveling budget that clubs are supposed to receive from the provincial body?
No Bones with Jones has emails of several clubs in the Second Division who reached out to the province seeking answers regarding their respective travel monies from 2017.
As much as the province isn’t responsible to ‘please explain what’s happening here?’ This begs the question… Why aren’t clubs unified in taking up this matter as a collective with the province to get what is rightfully theirs?
Let me tell you why… It’s because the fair play, morals and values of what sport teaches us in essence, are exchanged for ‘by hook or crook’ or the ‘win at all cost factor’ – all this at the expense of one’s blood, brotherhood and friendship which is the norm wherever you go.
But here’s some advice for Mahala… Please put aside the egos, hatred and racist ideas and stand together as a collective, demand answers from the province as to why clubs should wait for answers over what is rightly theirs while the powers that have not followed their own rules and policies, crippling their very own entities at the end of the day – who really wins here?
It is high time clubs start to show more integrity, backbone and balls to stand up for what is just – irrespective of the intimidation, victimization and backlash that might follow.
Can the 18 clubs under Safa WC’s banner for once stand as unified? History will show the contrary but then again nothing was achieved either. So, why not use a different (unified) approach to possibly evoke change.
