Cape Town - As a special member of the South African Football Association (Safa), the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is obliged to attend the activities convened for the improved governance of the game in the country.
Two weeks ago, Safa invited all members to a two-day Indaba over Friday and Saturday which was to be followed by an Ordinary Safa Congress on Sunday.
On the eve of the Indaba, the PSL issued a defiant statement saying it would not attend the events.
No reasons were given although the football fraternity is entitled to know the reasons for their no-show. In the absence of an official explanation, it is easy to think the boycott is because of the long-standing feud between Safa president Danny Jordaan and PSL chairman Irvin Khoza, who incidentally is also the Safa vice-president.
The PSL also has three other members serving in the Safa executive so it can exercise a fair amount of influence in the Safa boardroom.
The Safa notice for the Indaba included the agenda. The PSL executive was seemingly unhappy with the contents, hence its snarling response.
This stand-off follows hard-hitting comments by Safa’s new technical director Walter Steenbok. The outspoken director commented about PSL clubs’ coaching qualifications and CAF club licensing rules. He has also expressed views on the status of the Multichoice Diski Challenge from a developmental league perspective.
Steenbok is well qualified to say what he has said, and kudos to him for backing the courage of his convictions. No one in the PSL can fault what he has said.
The problem is that the PSL is so powerful that they can ignore Steenbok without landing in hot water. The latter part of the PSL’S statement informs the (PSL) executive committee delegation will seek an urgent audience with the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, and the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In a matter such as this, the PSL needs to approach the Minister of Sports via Safa. The previous sports minister Nathi Mthethwa made that clear, and it remains to be seen if Zizi Kodwa, his successor, will duly deal directly with the PSL.
The PSL also said it would discuss its Safa snub with CAF president Patrice Motsepe. He, too, should tell the PSL to sort out the matter with Safa rather than grant them an audience.
A major problem is that the PSL is headed by a very powerful man, Irvin ‘the Iron Duke’ Khoza. A few days ago he was handpicked by President Cyril Ramaphosa to serve on the National Orders Advisory Council. That gives one an idea of his standing in government circles.
Ideally, Kodwa and Motsepe should be sending the PSL back to Safa, who can share vital updates in the day-today running of the game.
In the past week, Safa had two high ranking Fifa officials, Ghanaian coach Abdul Faisal Chibsah (High Performance Specialist at Fifa) and Spaniard Brais Acebal (Uefa Pro Coach, Fifa High Performance) assisting with all the input required for the various items on the agenda over the three days.
@Herman_Gibbs