Opinion / Columnist
Who is Supersport faceless negotiator?
28 May 2016 at 08:52hrs | Views
WHEN the giant sports broadcaster Supersport came to Zimbabwe in 2012, everyone across board was excited about the whole deal and remained positive that a new dawn had come to our football. A dawn that will not only bring us closer to the rest of the world but would also uplift the standard of our game as well as enriching our perpetually poor clubs. It was everything that one would wish and pray for.
The Premier Soccer League management, then led by Twine Phiri, was hailed as the best thing ever to happen to Zimbabwe in as far as football leadership was concerned, and rightly so. I mean, here was a deal that would see a game played at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane or Colliery Stadium in Hwange being seen as far as Nigeria.
Even if the match would not have been live, we were still going to see those highlights as we had been seeing highlights from other African countries. We never thought of anything else. We never thought those highlights were just but a dream, I mean it never occurred to us because we all thought that was just standard.
It is the way of doing business. Infact it is the only way of doing business. How else would you have a TV deal that excludes highlights? Our expectations were even raised high when Brandon Foot, the company's head of Acquisitions and Legal told the media that 'we believe the investment will gain and benefit both parties'.
Phiri also added more flavor to our excitement when he said he was in no doubt that the deal would be very attractive for sponsors.
All this happened in 2012.
But in 2013 questions began to arise as to who really was and is benefiting from this arrangement. Was it the clubs? Was it Supersport? Was it the PSL leadership? Was it an individual? All these questions begged to be answered way back in 2013 and three years later, still beg to be answered.
In that year, 2013, it was shockingly revealed that Supersport had poured $136,000 into the league, meaning the clubs got $5,899,81 each. The real shocker, however, came when we were told that as per arrangement, the negotiator would get 15 percent of the total sponsorship, which translated to $20,400! I mean clubs get just $6K while an individual smiles all the way to the bank with a cool $20K plus. Lord my God, what is this?
Fast forward to this year, 2016, clubs will eventually get just over $22K although the league has already taken about $3,000 as security deposit.
The security deposit is not much of a concern really as clubs need to manage the behaviour of their supporters and conform to the requirements.
My concern, which must be that of every football fan in this country, is the figure for the faceless negotiator who will get a whooping $105,000!
Now the question in, who is this negotiator? Yes his identity is not really that important because regardless of how important he is, clubs must at the end of the day be the winners in this whole deal but my worst fear is that this faceless negotiator is someone within or close to the PSL.
Why can't the PSL or Supersport tell us who this negotiator is? We wonder why we are not being told.
What is there to be hidden and why hide it?
On Thursday, Supersport's communications manager Clinton Van der Berg said the contract cannot be made public because of what he called a confidentiality clause.
Who did Supersport sign this deal with and for? Was it for Phiri (then league president) or it's for the owners of the league who are the clubs?
If the clubs don't have a copy of the deal, then who has?
We await to see the finale of the impending legal battle between the Affirmative Action Group and Supersport following the later's demands to see the contract and the former's refusal to accede to the demand.
AAG had given Supersport up to this past Monday to comply with the demand or face legal action. The black empowerment group argues that the whole deal is actually disempowering locals.
Supersport, however, this week wrote to the Premier Soccer League informing them that they should allow clubs to have private camera persons at matches but I still feel we need to know the contents of that deal.
Above all, we are owed the identity of this negotiator who up to now remains faceless.
Lets chat
Email: smoyo@chronile.co.zw <mailto:smoyo@chronile.co.zw>
Twitter:skhumoyo2000
Whatsapp: 0777878094
The Premier Soccer League management, then led by Twine Phiri, was hailed as the best thing ever to happen to Zimbabwe in as far as football leadership was concerned, and rightly so. I mean, here was a deal that would see a game played at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane or Colliery Stadium in Hwange being seen as far as Nigeria.
Even if the match would not have been live, we were still going to see those highlights as we had been seeing highlights from other African countries. We never thought of anything else. We never thought those highlights were just but a dream, I mean it never occurred to us because we all thought that was just standard.
It is the way of doing business. Infact it is the only way of doing business. How else would you have a TV deal that excludes highlights? Our expectations were even raised high when Brandon Foot, the company's head of Acquisitions and Legal told the media that 'we believe the investment will gain and benefit both parties'.
Phiri also added more flavor to our excitement when he said he was in no doubt that the deal would be very attractive for sponsors.
All this happened in 2012.
But in 2013 questions began to arise as to who really was and is benefiting from this arrangement. Was it the clubs? Was it Supersport? Was it the PSL leadership? Was it an individual? All these questions begged to be answered way back in 2013 and three years later, still beg to be answered.
In that year, 2013, it was shockingly revealed that Supersport had poured $136,000 into the league, meaning the clubs got $5,899,81 each. The real shocker, however, came when we were told that as per arrangement, the negotiator would get 15 percent of the total sponsorship, which translated to $20,400! I mean clubs get just $6K while an individual smiles all the way to the bank with a cool $20K plus. Lord my God, what is this?
Fast forward to this year, 2016, clubs will eventually get just over $22K although the league has already taken about $3,000 as security deposit.
The security deposit is not much of a concern really as clubs need to manage the behaviour of their supporters and conform to the requirements.
My concern, which must be that of every football fan in this country, is the figure for the faceless negotiator who will get a whooping $105,000!
Now the question in, who is this negotiator? Yes his identity is not really that important because regardless of how important he is, clubs must at the end of the day be the winners in this whole deal but my worst fear is that this faceless negotiator is someone within or close to the PSL.
Why can't the PSL or Supersport tell us who this negotiator is? We wonder why we are not being told.
What is there to be hidden and why hide it?
On Thursday, Supersport's communications manager Clinton Van der Berg said the contract cannot be made public because of what he called a confidentiality clause.
Who did Supersport sign this deal with and for? Was it for Phiri (then league president) or it's for the owners of the league who are the clubs?
If the clubs don't have a copy of the deal, then who has?
We await to see the finale of the impending legal battle between the Affirmative Action Group and Supersport following the later's demands to see the contract and the former's refusal to accede to the demand.
AAG had given Supersport up to this past Monday to comply with the demand or face legal action. The black empowerment group argues that the whole deal is actually disempowering locals.
Supersport, however, this week wrote to the Premier Soccer League informing them that they should allow clubs to have private camera persons at matches but I still feel we need to know the contents of that deal.
Above all, we are owed the identity of this negotiator who up to now remains faceless.
Lets chat
Email: smoyo@chronile.co.zw <mailto:smoyo@chronile.co.zw>
Twitter:skhumoyo2000
Whatsapp: 0777878094
Source - chronicle
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