Safa blames SABC for blackout

The South African Football Association (Safa) has said that they tried to give South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) every opportunity to broadcast Saturday’s 1-1 draw between Bafana Bafana and Nigeria‚ but that the SABC declined.

In a press release Safa said the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria at the FNB Stadium‚ plus the Mandela Challenge match against Paraguay at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday night‚ were offered to SABC at a cut rate.

The statement‚ titled‚ “SAFA apologises for no SABC broadcast of AFCON qualifier”‚ stated that the SABC declined these offers.

Safa’s statement read: “SAFA wishes to apologise to the nation and the football loving public for the fact that the SABC failed to broadcast the Bafana Bafana v Nigeria Afcon qualifier this afternoon.

“SAFA had taken the initiative to seek a resolution to the impasse as early as the first week of November‚ and made the SABC an offer to broadcast the Bafana v Nigeria and the Nelson Mandela Challenge‚ by attempting to conclude a match-bymatch agreement.

“In this instance‚ SAFA offered the matches to the SABC for a rights fee of R10-million. The SABC declined this offer by SAFA.

“SAFA then continued to engage the SABC‚ in the hope that it would be able to ensure that the nation had an opportunity to watch the match on SABC.

“In this regard‚ SAFA then took the initiative to reduce its rights fee request from the original R10-million to R7‚5-million.

“Again the SABC declined this gesture made by SAFA.

“However‚ the SABC failed to answer this request in writing by (Saturday morning)‚ 17 November 2018.”

In what has become a war of the words between the two parties‚ the SABC issued their own statement and claimed that they made a “commercially viable offer” that was rejected by Safa.