Club financial challenges

We see several teams struggling to keep their heads above water because running a professional football club comes at a significant cost.

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When club owners say they don’t make money from football, they genuinely mean that they are not in football to make money. Some people seem to think those club owners are just talking nonsense because there is a lot of money in the Beautiful Game. That is the perception out there.

When you listen to and see the financial breakdown, the truth of the matter is that most of these owners are struggling to run their clubs because they are not in football to make money. They are in it for love and passion, while giving back to their communities is always on top of their checklist. They enjoy watching their players, coaches and staff — current or former — develop into better human beings who change lives and become role models. Listen to former SuperSport United Chairman, Khulu Sibiya, talk about coach Pitso Mosimane or vice versa. Kaizer Chiefs Chairman, Dr Kaizer Motaung, has a similar relationship with Doctor Khumalo just as his Orlando Pirates counterpart, Dr Irvin Khoza, does with Tebogo Moloi and the list goes on and on with the club chairmen and their former employees. Coach Manqoba Mngqithi has a relationship with Golden Arrows Chairlady, Mato Madlala, and the entire family that transcends football. You hear about deep personal experiences between former players, staffers and their chairmen, the sacrifices the clubs made and how they went out of their way to help those in their employ, then you realise that as much as football is a business, there is a human touch to it. That is why a lot of people who come into the football space just to enrich themselves and lining their pockets get found out and discarded by the game we all love so much.