Joffe and Hunt are here to stay, insists Wits CEO

Sy Lerman

“Whizz-kid” Brian Joffe, the architect behind the booming multi-billion rand growth of the Bidvest business empire, may be winding down his activities within the international organisation, but this will not result in any changes to the company’s Wits University football club.

This was confirmed yesterday by club CEO Jose Ferreira while giving an assurance that Joffe would continue as chairman of the Premier Soccer League team and remain “just as enthusiastic as ever in supporting the team to reach new heights”.

At the same time, Ferreira also dismissed what he claimed were “reckless and unfounded rumours” that Wits head coach Gavin Hunt could be heading towards a move to glamour club Kaizer Chiefs.

“All that anyone required was to contact me and I could have told them there was no truth about Gavin going to Chiefs,” Ferreira said.

“Instead, irresponsible rumour-mongers have followed the principle of never checking a story in case it is false, and spreading incorrect facts that have no foundation.”

Ferreira said Joffe and Hunt were integral influences in Wits’ plans to achieve major honours within the PSL and assume a place alongside teams like Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, who had already achieved this objective within the ambit of South African football.

“Without the resources and as yet public support of these clubs I believe we are doing pretty well,” Ferreira said about the Milpark-based club, which was lying second in the Premiership behind Sundowns.

He added that the pursuit of local success was the immediate objective of the club, while defending the poor results in the early rounds of Caf’s recent Confederation Cup tournament.

“First we want to establish Wits as a major force in South African football. That is our objective,” Ferreira said.