MASSIVE DISCREPANCIES
NO FAIR PLAY IN SALARY GAME
THOUGH the PSL has become a multi-billion rand money-spinning institution, some players still earn shockingly low salaries.
Some players take home a net salary of R5 000, while others earn R400 000 a month. Names have been withheld to prevent victimisation.
This is one of the main challenges facing the South African Football Players Union (Safpu), which recently gained recognition from the PSL.
“I’d say that about 10% of the players are high earners and the rest don’t earn salaries that would enable them to put some funds away for retirement. These players generate billions of rands for the game,” says Safpu president Hareaipha Marumo.
“Clubs are able to get away with murder as they’ve introduced performance and apprentice contracts, which protect the clubs.
“It also encourages underpayment and perpetuates hyper-exploitation of the players by the clubs. Research conducted in 2007 suggested a minimum wage should be R8 000 for NFD and R15 000 for a PSL player.
“But things have changed drastically since then. We’re now earmarking in the region of R20 000 for PSL players. The NFD is tricky and we are still consulting as to what will be best for players in that league.”
Clubs who are alleged to have these contracts include Ajax Cape Town, Bidvest Wits, Jomo Cosmos, Orlando Pirates, Black Leopards and Free State Stars. Wits boss Roger de Sa confirms that half his squad is on a R6 000 a month salary.
“They are on apprentice contracts and I do not think that is exploitation. We have a very youthful squad and, like any other trade in the world, you start earning low and work harder to make your salary better.
“Clubs have different budgets, crowds, sponsors and high salaries are impossible for certain clubs. None of these players are forced to sign these contracts, ” De Sa says.
Sunday World has learnt that one of the clauses in the apprentice contract is that from a R5 000 salary, you can get a R5 000 increase if you play a certain number of matches and so forth. If you do not play regularly, you will stay on R5 000 for a long time.
Free State Stars GM Rantsi Mokoena denies having players on such low salaries on their books, but Ajax CEO George Comitis says a R6 000 salary is not unheard off.
“We don’t exploit players. We give them opportunities and offer them incentives and rewards. If you give young players lots of money they go off the rails.”
The biggest exploitation is in the National First Division, where clubs are forced to have three under-23 players on their books. Naive kids are grabbed from the streets and some earn as little as R1 500 to R2 500.
Marumo says divulging would help: “It will assist in standardising the industry. It could also curb the practice of having one player playing week in week out and only earning R5 000, while another player sits on the bench earning R75 000.”