What about SAFA and the NFD?
How much Safa spent on Bafana games
Safa’s head of medical, Thulani Ngwenya, gave an idea of how much the association spent during the pilot project of having 2000 supporters for Bafana Bafana’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ghana and Zimbabwe last year.
According to Ngwenya, the association had to spend more money on security personnel.
“For the 2000 spectators at SAFA, we used to spend close to like R350 000, because of the security personnel and the verification process and so on,” Ngwenya told the Siya crew.
“Right now, I am not fully sure what it would entail with the supporters back at the stadium. But what I can say is that you need more security personnel, you need more people who are going to help with sitting the spectators.
“What I can say is that it’s a lot of money, because having to put the verification stations means hiring more personnel. In terms of the seating arrangement, there is a particular seating arrangement that they have to follow. So, there was a lot of money that was being spent towards that.
“But right now, given where we are with COVID-19, there might be some sort of financial relief for the clubs, because the restrictions and directives that were there are no longer here now. They no longer apply because we are out of the State of Disaster. With that in mind, maybe some of the things are back to normal,” Ngwenya said.
Clubs in the GladAfrica Championship
In the GladAfrica Championship, it’s quite difficult for clubs to make any sort of profit from the attendance of supporters. With supporters back at the stadiums, the clubs will have to dig deeper into their pockets, to ensure they meet the requirementsset out by the League and the government.
Black Leopards tend to attract a number of supporters, but there is little chance of them making a profit, with ticket prices believed to be around R20 to R30 in the GladAfrica Championship.
“Teams won’t make any money in these last 10 games of the season because teams were previously not spending all that money to get security companies to come in and then 500 people will show up, which means you are running at a loss.
“As much as fans weren’t there, the teams did not need to fork out the money they previously had to. (In future), teams could look at renting out smaller venues because of the cost,” Leopards official Tendani Thidiela told the Siya crew.
“In some games, you’ll get an almost sold-out crowd and in some games, you will get between 1000 and 2000 people. In the Monday meeting, you’d need to say how many fans you are expecting and that would go to security. In the NFD, it’s hard to gauge a profit because it’s not as well-marketed as the topflight.
“When we were in the topflight, we were one of the teams with better support, averaging between 10 000 to 12 000 a game, which allowed us to have a profit to pay security, do marketing. In the topflight, it was possible to make a profit, but in the NFD, it’s difficult because the games are not as well-marketed, and people are not as interested until you either get promoted or you are in the playoffs.”