Another step for the Players Union
The South African Football Union (Safpu) announced a partnership with Old Mutual last week in a move to help solve the problem of players who fall into financial difficulties. Financial education has been a major problem for local footballers, and here
Phakaaathi: This sounds like a good move by the union.
SM: Thanks. We are very honoured to have partnered with Old Mutual in this venture. It has been long overdue. We are hoping to have financial workshops and financial literacy awareness programmes to give the guys the ability to use their money wisely. Managing money is a big responsibility. A lot of pressure comes when you have more than an ordinary person, so we hope to bridge this gap for players.
Phakaaathi: What does the partnership entail?
SM: The partnership will basically be dealing with financial workshops – this is something Old Mutual has been busy with and they have a product called the On the Money programme which aims to promote financial literacy and independence for people. Safpu aims to take it to clubs and then take it to communities. We believe it takes a village to raise a child and by reaching out in our communities with money matters and with football role models in tow, we will be able to teach ordinary people to use money wisely. As a country we are in debt to an unacceptable level. Consumer debt should be around 60% in a nation but we are at around 80%, which is not good.
Phakaaathi: How long is your partnership with Old Mutual for?
SM: It is for five years with an option to renew.
Phakaaathi: What other success has there been in your seven-year tenure?
SM: We signed a collective bargaining agreement with the PSL and that has been our biggest move as a union. We have had various financial workshops for players. Also as a leadership we have raised sponsorships for the organisations and set up a bursary fund for players and we have a relief fund. Polokwane City’s Kopano Sekgobela was paralysed and we have had a charity game to raise funds for him.
Phakaaathi: You mentioned the bursary fund. Have you sent any players to further their studies?
SM: Shere Lekgothoane and Vuyo Mere, to mention two, are still busy with their studies and it has been through us. Dikgang Mabalane is a graduate in Sports Management, also through us. You see we have been hard at work.
Phakaaathi: Despite the fact that the union has been in existence for 18 years, there are still players who do not subscribe to it. Why?
SM: One of the biggest problems we have is that when players are at the top they forget about the other players. They look down on them and this has been a problem. We are trying to bridge that gap. We need solidarity – not in players only but as a country we need to be at one in everything we do. I am glad to tell you it is changing for the better as many players from big teams are joining the union.
Phakaaathi: The union has done little to enforce its presence in local football. Why?
SM: It is something we are addressing and we are speaking to various stakeholders in football such as the PSL and Safa. We are working on it as we do not want to be seen as the enemy, but as partners. It takes time to get established, but we are working to change those mindsets and perceptions – we have been seen as the enemy rather than as a partner and that has affected our voice.
Phakaaathi: Do you still get advice from former union administrators such as John Moeti?
SM: We do, though we have not spoken in a while. He is a gentleman. I asked him to be part of us, but he said he was not ready. I told him the door was always open. He is a great mind.
Phakaaathi: What future plans do you have for the union?
SM: It is just a pity that we do not speak that much. We have set up a marketing department and soon we will have Safpu TV. The media has to partner with us in making sure our players get as much financial education and life skills as they can. Safpu will make errors as we are not perfect.
Phakaaathi: Have you achieved a minimum wage for footballers?
SM: Not yet. We are in discussions about this.
Phakaaathi: Do you think the change in the players’ agent rules are good for the game?
SM: The intentions are good as now a player can move overseas without being restricted to one agent. I still think there are loopholes in it when it comes to a player getting someone without knowledge to guide him in a deal.