ABC clubs desperate after transport grants not paid
Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League soccer club owners are drowning in debt and on the verge of selling their teams’ statuses due to them not receiving their annual Safa transport grant of R30,000 for the past season.
Now, just 11 matches into the new season, clubs fear that when the first leg ends in January they might also not get the first payment for this season.
The R30,000 grant is divided into two payments of R15,000, one after the first leg of the season and the second at the end of the season.
Four of the clubs said that no payment had been made to them since the 2016/2017 season.
Swartkops Valley United Brothers chair Bongo Zondani said: “We have not received our grant since last season. Both R15,000 payments were not paid last season.
“I am deep in debt because of the club and I do not know how am I going to get myself out.
“Besides petrol, players also need to be fed and feeding players bread and polony all the time is not right.
“If you travel from PE to Bizana you cough up about R14,000 for transport, R13,000 for accommodation and you must also feed the players. The Safa grant is not even enough.”
Despite the difficulties, Zondani said his team honoured all their fixtures last season.
“I also take money which is meant to go to my family and use it for the club. Now I have reached a point were I want to get rid of the team but my only fear is for the players because we are the only ABC team in Motherwell at the moment.
Butterworth chair Banzi Siyonjwana said: “Safa is not doing us any good.
“I am disappointed because a lot of owners are selling their clubs simply because of the treatment we are getting.
“We are playing for nothing, instead we are ruining our families because you put in a lot of money in the club.
“This Friday I am coming to Uitenhage to play against Future Tigers.
“The game starts at 6pm and it should finish around 8pm. Is it safe for me to travel back to Butterworth at that
Graeme Sauls
time? Am I not putting my players at risk? It means we have to sleep over.”
Brendan Bosman, who is the chief operations officer at Sibanye, said if it was not for their corporate sponsor Sibanye Electrical, he did not know how they would have survived in the league.
“It is extremely difficult for the clubs to function within the ABC League given the level of expenditure that the teams have to cough up.
“The overall grant itself is very minimal,” he said.
PE Stars team manager Graeme Sauls said while clubs were expected to meet what was required of them by Safa, the association did not honour its obligation.
“Our club is even owed money for referees fees that we paid on behalf of clubs from last year already who never pitched for games.
“We were referred to [Safa head of competitions] Thomas Sadiki by Safa Eastern Cape, but he was unable to give us a firm answer.
“I assume that the reason why some teams don’t come is that they don’t have money.
“It’s cheaper to pay the fine of R5,000 than to travel.”
Sadiki blamed the row between Safa and the SABC.
“It was indicated that our cash flow around the issues of SABC was the cause [for nonpayment] but we are going to send communication to the clubs to update them of what is happening,” he said.
Asked how the row affected ABC Motsepe teams, he responded: “Generally, you know that ABC funding does not cover everything.
“If the total expense of running ABC travel is R12m, you will find that Motsepe is giving R8m. So we need to get another R4m.
“We are going to communicate with the clubs and give them an update indicating when they will receive their outstanding money from last season and when they’ll receive the first payment for this season.”
Asked when the money would be paid out, Sadiki terminated the call.
‘I assume that the reason why some teams don’t come is that they don’t have money. It’s cheaper to pay the fine of R5,000 than to travel’
PE STARS TEAM MANAGER