Without
clubs acknowledging and serving in the best interest of SA football, as clearly
stipulated in the 'Clubs' chapter, article 23.4 of the SAFA Constitution, the
same Premier Soccer League clubs operate and exist unconstitutionally.
More
players have been recalled, ahead of the practice match against Zambia on
Wednesday, from an already debilitated Bafana Bafana team that scrambled to a
goalless draw against the No.: 150-Fifa ranked Equatorial Guinea last Friday.
But the club-versus-country ghost will continue to haunt the local game until
SAFA sees the need to rectify and impose their constitution to deal with the
PSL. As it is, and as MaximalFootball.com once wrote, South African clubs do
not operate in the best interest of South African football. They operate
unconstitutionally and as demonstrated in this case cannot serve the best
interests of the local game.
Lunatic,
demented or scandalous as it may sound, there is no credible argument that even
the highest football body in the country, the South African Football
Association, can present to the contrary. Article 23.4 of the SAFA constitution
states ‘A club may be owned by a South African or foreign company provided that
it is in the best interest of South Africa football.’ Regrettably, that is
currently not the case with the local clubs, who continue to serve their
individual, selfish interests ahead of those of SA football. SAFA is left with
no option but to strongly enforce those constitutional provisions!
In
all other constitutional or regulatory frameworks used in other countries,
clubs are regarded as fundamental structures for the development of the game,
performance, international representation, eco-social up-lifting, etc., which
are all considered to be of national interest.
Shockingly,
there is no other stipulation, regulation or anything whatsoever that could
indicate what those interests of South African football essentially are - which
clubs should acknowledge, respect, fulfil and be responsible of. Zilch! And the
question ‘how and why was article 23.4 enacted without any form of enforcement
thereof?’ should be asked! Without being effectively and strictly regulated
clubs' activities CANNOT serve THE BEST INTERESTS of football and the nation's.
For
clubs to serve the national and football interest they have to be regulated -
it's the only possibility!
Inconceivable
as it may be, without clubs acknowledging and serving in the best interest of
SA football, as clearly stipulated in the 'Clubs' chapter, article 23.4 of the
SAFA Constitution, the same clubs operate and exist unconstitutionally because
they are NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF SA FOOTBALL! This is just one of the many
scandals of the local game and this predicament should be included in the
agenda of the upcoming Sport Indaba and radical measures should be recommended.
SAFA
must rectify this part of their constitution. They need to define what they
mean by the “best interest of South African football.” If they don’t they will
continue to have no right to stop national team players from joining BB or to
complain about the national policy of running our national teams. They are not
part of the system – unfortunately they are an ‘independent’ entity and this
cannot be accepted anymore!
MaximalFootball.com,
fairly young as it is, was the first break the looming Club Licensing crisis a
few months ago. The situation where the PSL seeks to license its own clubs
needs to be stopped immediately by SAFA. While the hatchet is said to have been
buried between the two warring organisations it is a well-known fact that they
in fact do not drink from the same cup.
Since
the Football Transformation Forum won the SAFA elections on 26 September 2009,
the PSL has openly sought to become independent of SAFA. The Executive
Committee of the league’s recent appointment of Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs
Attorneys “to handle the corporatization process, which will result in the NSL
ceasing to be a voluntary association and becoming a company incorporated in
terms of the Act” is one worrying example in this regard. Since the fateful
26-September day the PSL has, on numerous occasions, pulled in a different
direction, BUT they MUST NEVER be allowed to license their clubs.
The
PSL is run by club owners and the question is ‘How is it possible that club owners
can license themselves?’ Who would at SAFA, CAF and FIFA accept this paradox?
How
are those club owners going to pass a regulation that should be in the best
interest of the local football, when or if that regulation happens to be a
prerequisite some clubs cannot meet and could therefore have them risk the
disapproval of their licences? It is a clear indication that regulations that
are easy for clubs to meet will be considered instead of those that could
benefit the game indiscriminately.
The
fact is, according to article 3.2.1, ‘Who is the licensor’, it is clearly
stated that the licensor should be the member association. Nowhere is it stated
that the league has to be the licensor. UEFA is the licensor in Europe and how
does the PSL grant licenses in South Africa? It is the normal procedure that
such club licenses should be approved by an independent Licensing Board
appointed by Safa. The composition of the Board should comprise technical,
managerial, and administrative personalities with background in professional
football and/or leadership in the SA Football Association.
Minimum
requirements, community based and community representation in the clubs’
management committees, AGMs, home ground, training facilities, youth
development programs, coaching qualification requirements, as stipulated by the
Football Association concerning professional clubs, are general prerequisites
in complying with Pro Club Licensing regulations. However, it is a pity that
some of the requirements will be manipulated to suit those that will be
licensing themselves rather than to benefit the game if the PSL is allowed to
go ahead with licensing itself.
The
perturbing regress of the local game is as a result of non-unitary general
policies and programs, especially of technical and developmental nature,
employed by separate football governing entities such as the national football
association and the professional league. A unitary approach to this vital
requirement has to be reached in the name of national interest.
By Editor of Maximal
Football
Original
story: http://goo.gl/vdMGk
Email:
editor@maximalfootball.com
