Astonishing growth of football business!

The fact that the pre-season match between Bayern Munich and Sao Paulo was watched by more than one billion people in 217 countries illustrates the astonishing growth of football business.

That’s bonanza for global football sponsors and investors. It substantiates why in the leading football nations up to 80% of private and government sport investments, sponsorship, world class facilities and media coverage benefit football.

In a bizarre contrast and despite of being blessed with the best football talent South Africa is faced with the opposite of this global trend. It is completely abnormal that South Africa’s major business houses channel considerably more of their financial assistance to sports that on the global scale are rated as minor – as compared to the magnitude of football.

Among such suspicious irrationalities is the broadcast revenue where in 2012 SA football received R27 million while a staggering R582 million was paid to Cricket SA and SA Rugby.

The anachronism of such disparities reinforces the status of underprivileged sport for SA football, still. In a nation where football is the number one sport, this scenario is un-dignifying and grossly discriminatory. Your views on this most critical aspect could make a difference.

By Dumitru Ted