Ronwen Williams was recently crowned the best goalkeeper in the southern African region by COSAFA, but in truth he is among the leading glovemen across all the continent following a superb 12 months for both club and country.



The 32-year-old was rewarded for his form with a new contract at Mamelodi Sundowns, perhaps suggesting that a move to Europe is now unlikely, and as national team captain has reset his focus on taking Bafana Bafana to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.



Having made his professional debut in South Africa’s topflight as a 19-year-old at SuperSport United, a rarity to have a teenage keeper play in the elite level, in the subsequent 13 years he has reached legend status in the local game and is arguably at the peak of his powers.



But what is also true is that he is expected to meet incredibly high standards at Sundowns, who again will vie for six trophies in the coming 2024/25 season where they will be expected to do well in all, and lift more than the two pieces of silverware they managed in the last campaign.



“It&#8217;s tough, really tough, because you have the board supported by the chairman (Tlhopie Motsepe) that do so much for us,” Williams tells FORBES AFRICA. “They go out of their way to make sure things are smooth, are good, we are well prepared and therefore they are very demanding.



<div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:56% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62230 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ronwen-Williams-Image-credit-COSAFA-2-2048x1363.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
Ronwen Williams receives COSAFA Men&#8217;s Goalkeeper of the Year award during the 2024 COSAFA Awards at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on the 9th of May 2024 (©Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix)
</div></div>



“The nice thing about pressure is you can feel it. You just need to show up to your job, win games, win as many trophies as possible. And enjoy it. I would rather be in this situation than any other situation, because there&#8217;s lots to play for, there&#8217;s lots of success, there&#8217;s a lot of trophies, there&#8217;s a lot of (financial) incentives as well.



“The coach (Rulani Mokwena) protects us from it, he shields us away from the pressure. So, we enjoy it and we want to be successful and we want to rewrite history.”



What that success has brought is a place at the top table in global club football when Sundowns take part in next year’s inaugural FIFA Club World Cup along with the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid.



“That we are going to be part of this tournament, with so many (top) teams, speaks volumes for the club and the direction we want to go,” Williams says. “We were part of the first African Football League too. So, it just shows you know the level that we are at and what we want to achieve as a club.”



Williams has been a key figure in the recent upturn in fortunes for Bafana, not just as a shot-stopper, but also the captain of the side. Many have been surprised by the rapid improvement in the national team, but he always felt it was around the corner.



It culminated in a third place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast, where Williams won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award.



“In many interviews I&#8217;ve done over the last year I told journalists that I can see Bafana Bafana doing well at Afcon and no one believed me,” he said. “But we knew what we were building, we knew the brotherhood we had and the talent that I&#8217;ve seen.



“Now, if you have the brotherhood and the team spirit is tops, there&#8217;s nothing that can stand in your way. The unity can carry you when you don&#8217;t maybe have the best players and when things are not going well.



“That&#8217;s when you count on each other and that showed at Afcon when things were tough, and guys were injured. When guys were tired, when you start missing your family, that&#8217;s when the brother comes through for you.”

South Africa v DR Congo – TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations

‘We Want To Rewrite History’: Place At The Top Table In Global Club Football For South African Star

Collin Benjamin was an unknown when he left his native Namibia in the 1990s, becoming one of the best African imports into the German league. Back in Windhoek, he wants to improve the professional football club landscape with the virtues learned from his Germany stint. 



There have been thousands of African footballers who have left the continent to seek fame and fortune on the football fields of Europe, where the earnings can be eye- wateringly plentiful and international glory beckons.



The likes of Samuel Eto’o, Abedi Pele, Didier Drogba, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have been turned into worldwide icons by their exploits and remain massive role models.



But the cycle of moving overseas to play and then returning home to share the knowledge and expertise gained has been largely limited, making it always heartening when this is competed.



One such example is Collin Benjamin, who was an unknown when he left his native Namibia in the 1990s to try his luck in Germany.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="809" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-809x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61913" style="width:421px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-809x1024.jpg 809w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-237x300.jpg 237w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-768x972.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-1214x1536.jpg 1214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-1618x2048.jpg 1618w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-scaled.jpg 2023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Collin Benjamin, coach of Namibia ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure></div>


There have always been close footballing contacts between the southern African country and its former colonizer and the contacts helped Benjamin find a club in the semi-professional ranks. There is little glamor there but players head in that direction in the hope it proves a springboard.



This is what happened to Benjamin, who went on to spend a decade playing in the Bundesliga and became one of the best African imports into the German league.



After his career at Hamburger SV and 1860 Munich, he worked as a junior coach in Germany before deciding to go home to Windhoek.



Since then, he has worked his way through the coaching ranks with Namibia’s junior teams and on to the senior side, when he qualified for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.



It was only the fourth time Namibia reached the finals, and in the Ivory Coast, they set new standards, winning for a first time and also qualifying for the knockout phase – something they had not done before.



Benjamin felt the urge to return home, knowing his experience could be a force for good.



“Namibia is my country that gave me the chance to become a footballer. I returned to Windhoek in 2016 because I wanted to give something back to the country with my academy after my almost 20 years in Germany,” he explains to FORBES AFRICA.



“The fact that we were now able to give something back with the achievements at the Cup of Nations finals and that I can do this job makes me very happy and grateful.” Benjamin has had to deal with limited facilities, much changed from his time in Germany with their abundant resources.



Namibia’s small population also means a restricted pool of talent to choose from plus the country’s administrators have been reportedly fighting each other over the last decade, leaving the professional club landscape in tatters.



Benjamin says, however, that there was a fire burning within all his players, just as there was with him when he was starting out.



“You know, less talent, more work, and just the hunger. They all want to get out of Namibia and have an opportunity to play outside in another country.”



That spurred Namibia to a successful tournament in the Ivory Coast, including an upset win over Tunisia, who were at the last World Cup finals in Qatar.



“Basically, it was that hunger, wanting to succeed, knowing that clubs elsewhere cannot see them at home. The only platform they have to make a name for themselves is the national team.”



Benjamin has looked to harness that as best he can. “My approach is basically to look at what you have talentwise but also your personality. I’m of the opinion that I was not the best player, but I could make it and go and play in Germany just because of basic hunger and work ethic. I believe that you have to work if you want to achieve. I felt I had to get the team centered and create an ambition in them. They had to know that they should work towards something, and only through work you can achieve those goals. We had to become a lot fitter and play with more aggression and just learn to make things difficult for your opponent. So, it was basically just those principles. Those are kind of like my life principles that I’m just trying to instil in them.”



Moving from Germany has not proven easy because Namibia is hampered not only by a small pool of players but also a lack of facilities. Their two stadiums in Windhoek have both been ruled unfit for international matches by Confederation of African Football inspectors. Namibia have had to host their ‘home’ matches in South Africa.



“It’s not something that I’m going to hide, I do get frustrated. The whole parliament have been congratulating us, influential people, politicians, but we don’t need that. We want them to use their influence to at least have a stadium where we can play our matches, so that these players actually have something to dream about and people to cheer for them. If you want to compete on this continental stage, you need to win your home games and for us that’s not possible as long



as our stadiums are banned because they need to be upgraded.” But his job is still a thrill. “I don’t want hero status. For me it’s about something completely different. In Germany, with my easy nature, I was certainly seen by everyone as an African, and many of the boys in the team probably thought of me as ‘He’s not African, he’s European’. I am of course African. But I have internalized German virtues such as discipline, I try to mix and bring together the best of both cultures. So far, the combination has worked very well. I didn’t have a career plan before. My only goal was to further develop football in Namibia. And we’re not done yet,” warns Benjamin.

Football – 2022 Hollywood bets Cosafa Cup – Namibia Training – Princess Magogo Stadium

The Sportsman Kick-Starting Change From Germany To Namibia

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the continent’s most important international men’s association football competition, is less than two months away. FORBES AFRICA offers some insight into what one can expect in the build-up to this much-anticipated exhibition.



Few times, if ever, has the favorite going into an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament emerged after a month of intense action hoisting aloft the trophy.



But two years ago, at the last edition in Cameroon, Senegal were certainly a sentimental favorite because they had come so close on several previous occasions but never won, and so when they emerged as victors, it was to many neutrals’ delight.



As reigning African champions, that will make them among the fancied sides this time round, which if historic precedence is followed, will not be welcome.



No team since Egypt in 2008 has been able to hold on to the African crown and Ghana and Cameroon are the only other countries able to retain their title.



The 34th edition Cup of Nations will kick off on January 13 and is being hosted in the Côte d&#8217;Ivoire – a second time for the West African country after the 1984 finals.



Then it was an eight-team tournament, completed in the space of 14 days, but Africa’s continental championship is much evolved. This time round, the Ivorians host 24 teams at six different stadia, four of them newly built for the tournament, which will have a bevy of top stars on display, with the ever-increasing number of African players now featuring in the top leagues in Europe.



Their clubs are not happy they will be absent for up to a month but FIFA rules dictate national teams enjoy preference on the players’ service over clubs when a continental championship, like AFCON, is hosted. Ideally, the players should not have to suffer the tug of club versus country.



But this tournament was moved back six months because of concerns over the rainy season in the region and is now being hosted slap bang in the middle of the league season to the chagrin of the clubs who now lose the services of their best African players.



The concerns over the weather should have been raised when the Ivorians first bid to host the finals but are genuine and have already caused much consternation long before a ball has even been kicked.



The newly-built showpiece Stade Olympique d&#8217;Ebimpé in Abidjan, where the final is due to be played on February 11, turned into a paddling pool in September when the Ivory Coast played Mali in a friendly and the heavens opened. There was no proper drainage and eventually the game had to be called off to the embarrassment of the Ivorians.



There were pitch problem at the last Cup of Nations in Cameroon too, to the consternation of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and they can ill afford a repeat this time, seeking to assure that the playing surfaces are of a quality that ensures a good footballing spectacle. French experts have been called in to make sure all the pitches are ready for carpet football once the event gets underway.



If all conditions do turn out to be top class, it is tournament that has the potential to be a top quality event, given the strength and depth of the protagonists.



Of the 24 participating nations, half have won the tournament previously. This time there are no newcomers but some tricky minnows with a proven pedigree for creating carnage. Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia, for example, were giant killers at the last finals and return again with the ability to upset the established pecking order.



Hosts Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, who have won twice before in 1992 and 2015, have a talented squad but are a little short of tournament temperament. They will look to the former England international Wilfred Zaha to lead their hopes and he certainly has the x-factor to lead them to the winners’ podium.



Morocco, on the back of their heroic exploits at the 2022 World Cup, will be the most fancied side but teams from Arabic-speaking North Africa have a long history of struggling when AFCON is hosted south of the Sahara.



Egypt did win in Burkina Faso in 1998 and again in Ghana 10 years thereafter, but Morocco have pointedly failed time and again in the continental championship, particularly when they have been hailed as pre-competition favorites.



Perhaps this will be their time given the confidence they collected in Qatar, where the 2022 World Cup took place, when they became the first African, and Arab, nation to reach the semi-final.



Algeria will have a heavyweight selection of French-born players from the massive Diaspora that they have across the Mediterranean, while Egypt are ever dangerous, particularly if Mohamed Salah is on song. Egypt lost narrowly in the last Cup of Nations finals to Senegal on post-match penalties.



It has been a decade since Nigeria last won the competition but this could be their opportunity again with a squad brimful of attacking talent. It is led by the striker Victor Osimhen, who finished top scorer in Italy last season where he helped Napoli to win the league.



Often times, however, the players’ ambition is let down by the foibles of their administrators, whose incompetence might make things tough for Nigeria to realize its massive potential.



The tournament is being played in Abidjan (two stadiums), Bouake, Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro with all but two of the venues built specifically for the tournament.

South Africa v Morocco – Africa Cup of Nations

The Pride Of African Football: A Look Ahead

Young African football stars are embracing the opportunity presented by Major League Soccer in North America as a stepping stone to the best clubs in Europe. FORBES AFRICA was in St Louis in Missouri in the United States for these exclusive interviews, and the numbers are big.



The recent arrival of Lionel Messi has distorted the image somewhat but the reality of Major League Soccer (MLS) in North America is it’s a league of rapidly growing potential, with increasingly promising talent and a stepping stone to the top leagues of Europe.



Football is finding increasing traction in a market where it used to be considered a minor sport and the MLS is changing its image from a league that was seen as the parking lot for fading superstars coming to the end of their careers and looking for a final pay day, to one where the dreams of young players can be realized.



As a result, many young Africans are embracing the opportunity.



“To be honest, I had doubts in my mind because I thought the style of football was not anything like we do back home,” Njabulo Blom, the 23-year-old South African international midfielder who was sold by Kaizer Chiefs to St Louis City at the start of the season, tells FORBES AFRICA.



“I know that the MLS is not rated among the best leagues in the world but the standard of football is very good. It’s not what people think outside,” Blom adds from St Louis, the Midwestern city in the United States (US) where the local club have just joined the MLS and are making waves.



The numbers back him up. As per Forbes, the values of MLS franchises have jumped, since 2019, by 85% on average, with defending champions Los Angeles FC now valued at around $1 billion, breaking into the top 20 in the world. Another example is the value of Seattle Sounders has increased from $405 million to $850 million in just four years, with the team recently becoming the first American side to participate at the Club World Cup.



Revenues have reportedly grown continuously, by 16.6% on average per year between 2007 and 2018 but the spectacular progress is reflected in the price of what new franchises are paying to join the league.



The 10 original clubs invested $10 million each when the league kicked off in 1996 but Portland and Vancouver paid $35 million in 2011. For Charlotte FC, who arrived in 2022, the bill amounted to $325 million.



Average attendances are around 22,000 spectators, a figure similar to France. The record for a single game is the 82,110 that turned out in July at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to watch the Los Angeles derby, dubbed ‘El Trafico’.



This year’s expansion side St Louis City are setting new standards with their sell-out stadium, a brand-new venue and a state-of-the-art training facility next door.



They are coached by Johannesburg- born Bradley Carnell, who played for South Africa at the 2002 World Cup and had a successful career in the German Bundesliga after starting out as a 16-year- old professional at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.



He later earned his coaching stripes as an assistant at Free State Stars and Orlando Pirates.



“They said the expansion job is one of the most difficult in any American sport, so good luck. I was like, ‘Ok’,” Carnell says.



“Then I met the ownership group and spoke to them about vision, passion and what we stand for. There was just too many similarities and synergy there for I think either party. Looking in hindsight, everything just panned out,” he adds.



St Louis are the first new team in MLS history to win their opening five matches and are well-placed for the end of season playoffs.



But Carnell, in a long interview with FORBES AFRICA, insists on patience.



“Short-term, it’s about getting infrastructure, academy, style of play— check those boxes. Mid-term, be competitive — we’re checking that box as well. Now, long-term, can we be really successful? The goal is to be compared, one day, to those great teams in the league already.”



In his playing days, Carnell had a chance to move overseas after being spotted as a teenager when he was competing for South Africa at the under-20 level at a tournament in France.



He thinks MLS offers the same chance to African players, especially those in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League, which MLS clubs are now showing much more interest in. “We just have to lead by example,” he says of the growing South African numbers in the league.



“If we can now, you know, just be key ambassadors for our product back home, and to put other guys on the map because now there is slowly more chatter; there’s a couple of players that are on the radar.”



Last year Minnesota United bought Bongokuhle Hlongwane from Maritzburg United and in recent months the teenager Olwethu Makhanya has moved to Philadelphia Union, while the exciting Mamelodi Sundowns striker Cassius Mailula is now at Toronto FC. 



The attraction of these players is their age. MLS rules allow clubs to take on more foreign players, as long as they are aged under-23, and it is here where Africans are in demand. Other top signings in recent months include Richard Odada (Kenya) and Prince Owusu, a German of



Ghanaian descent, and all can expect to be in contention to move onto a club in Europe in a few years, if they perform.



All can be assured they are on a stage that offers a chance to move on to bigger and better vistas in Europe.



According to the league, in 2022, MLS paid $175 million in transfer/acquisition fees, and for the fourth consecutive year it set a new high for fees paid, double the amount of five years ago. Revenue generated for outgoing players in 2022 was around $100 million. This does not include sell- on fees for the likes of Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson or Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards.



The figures for 2023 will be higher, especially the sales of players to clubs in Europe.



Blom’s advice to compatriots offered the chance to play in the MLS is: “Come play, because it’s really a great stepping stone to grow. It’s like an introduction to a high level of football.”



Mailula, for one, heeded the advice even though he had become a regular with Mamelodi Sundowns and could have a comfortable time at home, where he had become an almost overnight star after just one season with the Pretoria club. “It was not an easy decision to take, but I feel like I need to get out of my comfort zone, to explore, to get closer to Europe,” he explains. “This is the right decision for my career, for my family also.”



With each excellent performance, of which there have been many this season, the South African players shine a further spotlight on the domestic league and will have more scouts looking at Africa as a fertile ground for young talent.



Hlongwane hit the headlines with his rush of goals in the Leagues Cup for Minnesota, appearing alongside Messi when they were joint top scorers in the competition.



How many South African players in the past have had such a platform? Very few, and certainly none in the last two decades.



The US has a reputation as a land of opportunity, with rags-to-riches tales possible. Football is the new platform for that and with the South African players earning upwards of R500,000 ($26,150) a month at their young age, they are living that dream.

saas

‘Come Play’: Where African Stars Are In Demand

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year will see Zambia and South Africa participate with big hopes hinged on their performance.



BY NICK SAID



If there is one thing the coaches of South Africa and Zambia are in agreement on, it is that the hard work starts now as they prepare for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.



The draw for the 32-team finals competition was held a few weeks ago, and has not been particularly kind to the two southern African nations.



Debutants Zambia have been paired with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica in Group C, no easy task, but coach Bruce Mwape knows that however they do, the symbolism of seeing the Copper Queens on the global stage is perhaps the important thing.



“There are no easy teams in women’s football at the moment,” Mwape says. “For us, it’s just important to be there, especially as this is our first time.



“The whole country is behind us, supporting the team, and our achievements recently show that there has been a lot of improvement in Zambian football.”



He is correct. The Zambian national side won their first COSAFA senior title in 2022, while the country’s top club Green Buffaloes won the COSAFA Women’s Champions League as well.



These are all big steps forward for the game in Zambia and a major reason why they find themselves at the World Cup too.



Mwape has certainly improved their performance drastically, as has forward Barbra Banda, who was a star of the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year and could have a huge impact at the World Cup.



For South Africa, this competition will be second time round after they had their maiden World Cup qualification in France in 2019.



The core of that group remains in place and as recently-crowned African champions, there will be much expectation that they get out of their pool.



But the draw has not been kind, they face top sides Sweden, Italy and Argentina, with certainly the first two formidable foes. Coach Des Ellis is putting on a brave face.



“I think it’s a reasonable draw,” she said. “We’ve played Sweden before but we haven’t met Italy and Argentina. My feeling is that it could have been tougher.



“Now the planning and preparation starts, making sure the players have as much information as they can.”



The World Cup will be staged from July 20 to August 20, with South Africa canvassing hard to be the hosts of the 2027 tournament. The women’s competition has never been held on the African continent before.

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifier: South Africa v Ethiopia

Big Steps Forward For Women’s Football In These Southern African Nations

In South Africa, the ‘Big Three’ – rugby, cricket and soccer – face plummeting revenues in the wake of no live sport, while minor codes are under even greater threat as crucial sponsorship money dries up.



South African sport faces a crisis the likes of which has never been seen before and one that has the potential to change the game forever as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens the brittle fabric that has kept professionalism alive in the country.



Rugby, cricket and soccer all face plummeting revenues in the wake of no live sport, while minor codes are under even greater threat as crucial sponsorship money dries up.



The ‘Big Three’ all rely heavily on broadcast revenue, and for rugby and soccer, the inability to stage live sport in the first few months of the lockdown has put that relationship under threat. As has the worsening economic crisis in the country, which could see millions more people out of jobs and cancelling their subscriptions to pay channel SuperSport in what will be the longer-term effect of the pandemic.



Tough economic times do not bode well for sports, with the corporate paymasters loathe to be seen to be pumping money into sponsorship while at the same time laying off workers.



The immediate threat to all sports is to keep paying the players and staff, and across the board, there have been salary cuts that suggest the days of largesse are over, for now, and possibly, the foreseeable future.



South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) faces the potential for collapse as we know it, with clubs already cutting player salaries, laying off non-playing staff and facing a burst to the bubble of what is seen by many as the richest and best-equipped league in Africa.



Absa announced a premature end to their lucrative deal as headline sponsors of the league, worth some R140 million ($8.3 million) per season, while stalwart clubs such as Bidvest Wits, with a rich 99-year history, have been sold as owners reconsider their appetitive for the sport.



“Football all over the world is a business like any other,” Cape Town City owner John Comitis tells FORBES AFRICA. “It has to be treated as such and that means in tough economic times, you have to look at ways of cutting costs.



“But as a club, we will do everything possible to limit the damage. A lot of that will be dependent on how quickly we can re-start the season, because we need to fulfil our contractual obligations to our sponsors and the broadcaster.



“That is the major source of income and without that, it is inevitable that the effect will trickle down to staff and the players.



“But even if you cut player salaries, the cost of running a club remains high. It is a very difficult situation and some [clubs] will handle it better than others.”



Fellow top-flight side AmaZulu confirmed they could not pay full salaries as early as the end of April, though they were guarded on the size of the cuts, saying in a letter to players and staff, “even though the club receives the [R2 million] PSL grant and has Spar as a sponsor, it still relies on other income streams and significant contribution from the owners of the club whose businesses have been severely affected by Covid-19”.



In rugby, some of the country’s top players will lose up to 43% of their monthly earnings up to the end of 2020 after South African Rugby announced plans to cut its budget by R1.2 billion ($71.5 million) for the year.



This would be achieved through a mixture of interventions, including cancelling junior competitions, and limiting other operations such as training camps, coaching courses and non-essential work.



But players will also feel the brunt, with a sliding scale used to determine how much they will lose on their monthly wage, which according to reports, is on average around R50,000 ($2,980) per month across the board, though higher earners can collect five times that amount.



The cuts, which amount to 25% of total remuneration across the industry, are not just for players, but coaching staff, administrators and office workers as well. Those earning less than R20,000 ($1,192) per month will not be affected.



“It was a complex process to find alignment with a number of entities representing 1,396 people in the South African rugby industry,” SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux says.



“The group identified our collective areas of financial risk and what savings had to be made and then identified a plan to mitigate those risks.



“It has meant salary cuts for many, but we have put together a plan that will ensure the industry will be positioned and resourced to get straight back to action just as soon as we are permitted.”



Cricket has largely been shielded from the financial fallout due to the fact that the season was coming to an end just as lockdown was implemented.



It means the industry would have been dormant for a few months in any case, and the national team players mostly idle, though a limited overs tour to Sri Lanka in June was called off.



South Africa’s home summer really kicks into gear in December, by which time authorities are hopeful they will at least be able to stage matches and fulfil their contractual obligations, though a poorly-performing economy may have longer-lasting effects.



“We have budgeted for the amount [of salaries for the season],” Cricket South Africa Acting CEO Jacques Faul says. “It’s a centralized system and both the national team and [domestic] franchise players are budgeted for. At this stage, we will have enough capacity to see us through the [2020/21] season.



“But in the long term, even if we cover this season, we will have to look at what the situation is going to be after that and the financial impact it has. In our situation, I cannot see any player getting less money this season, but going forward, I can see a situation where players might have to receive less.”



The great uncertainty for everyone is the difficulty in predicting how the Covid-19 pandemic will play out in South Africa.



But what is clear is if salaries and jobs are to be saved, the games need to start sooner rather than later, or the money will simply dry up, and in a worst-case scenario, the likes of rugby and cricket could return to the amateur era.&nbsp;



– By Nick Said

Sowet soccer

How Covid-19 Is Playing Out In Sport In South Africa

Add another zero to soccer’s most expensive rivalry.



Cristiano Ronaldo earned $105 million before taxes and fees in the past year, landing him at No. 4 on the 2020&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;Celebrity 100, one spot above his top rival in the sport, Lionel Messi, and making him the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The 35-year-old striker is only the third athlete to hit mark while still playing following Tiger Woods, who did it in 2009 on the back of his long term endorsement deal with Nike&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NKE</a>, and Floyd Mayweather in 2017, who’s made most of his income from a cut of pay-per-view sales for his boxing matches.&nbsp;



Ronaldo, the first to do it in a team sport, has made $650 million during his 17 years on the pitch, and is expected to reach $765 million in career salary after his current contract ends in June 2022. Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005. The only team athlete to even come within striking distance of those figures was former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who retired in 2016 after 22 years in MLB having earned $450 million in salary. Not even soccer legend David Beckham came close, ending his career with total earnings of $500 million, half of which came from off-pitch endorsements. 



“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, in the world&#8217;s most popular sport, in an era when football has never been so rich,” said Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris, whose Global Sports Salaries Survey ranks teams worldwide based on total salary expense. “He&#8217;s box office.&#8221;



Ronaldo and Messi’s head-to-heads heated up in Spain’s La Liga in 2009, where Ronaldo played for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona. Their faceoffs on the pitch ignited a nine-year battle for bragging rights as the best — and top-paid — in the sport, a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2019/06/18/the-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-players-2019-messi-ronaldo-and-neymar-dominate-the-sporting-world/#2f9e5b76b55e">highly personal</a> tit-for-tat that had them re-negotiating contracts in lockstep and monopolizing the game’s highlight reel. 



The rivalry was as entertaining as it was profitable, coming just as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/05/29/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2019/#1a0fa8ff40d6">clubs around the world</a>&nbsp;were seeing soaring attendance and an influx of television money. The two were perfectly matched for battle, on and off the pitch: Ronaldo perfected a shirtless, stylized showmanship while Messi played the quiet game, always a tad unkempt and as prolific a scorer as he was a wingman. Ronaldo strutted after every goal. Messi was a master at thanking his teammates.&nbsp;



Both backed it up. Barcelona won the La Liga title six times and two Champions Leagues trophies with Messi on the squad. Real Madrid won the Spanish title twice and the Champions League four times with Ronaldo. During their years in the league, each player nabbed four Ballon d’Ors (soccer’s MVP) and their El Classicos, the nickname for their clubs fierce clashes, were record-setting television events worldwide.&nbsp;



But when it came to leveraging celebrity, it has been no contest. Guided by Jorge Mendes of Gestifute, one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2019/10/21/most-powerful-sports-agents/#1cc52df93b27">world’s most powerful agents</a>, Ronaldo has amassed an ever-growing following of fans and consumers drawn to his poster-boy good looks, trend-setting hair styles, impeccable fashion sense and, lately, his softer side as a family man whose toddlers pop up on his social media posts. In January he became the first person with 200 million followers on Instagram, part of a social media army of 427 million across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that makes him the most popular athlete on the planet.&nbsp;



Nike pays him upwards of $20 million annually and signed him to a lifetime deal in 2016, making him just the third athlete after Michael Jordan and LeBron James hitched to the Swoosh for eternity. In May, the footwear maker announced the release of a 10-year anniversary edition of his first signature Mercurial Superfly and a child’s version to celebrate his son’s 10th birthday, complete with his famous celebration stance, signature and logo. Pitches for Clear shampoo, Herbalife <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/herbalife" target="_blank">HLF</a>, and pharmaceutical maker Abbott help raise his endorsement tally to $45 million.



Ronaldo, Inc. even has a trademark — CR7, a mix of his initials and jersey number — part of a lifestyle brand that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates accounts for a quarter of his annual endorsement income, including branded underwear that debuted in 2013 that was followed by a line of shoes, fragrances and denim wear. He partnered with Pestana Hotel Group in 2015 to open his first property a year later in his hometown of Funchal, Madeira, right above Museu CR7, a shrine for his trophies and a retail outlet for his merchandise. He’s since added CR7 clubs with Crunch Fitness, posts workout routines on YouTube and has attached his name to a social media influencing degree offered by Italian online university eCampus.



And the rivalry is far from done.



Ronaldo’s 2020 earnings include a salary of $60 million, slightly less than last year due to a 30% pay cut he agreed to take this April as a result of the pandemic. Messi, who earned $104 million in the past year after taking a 70% pay cut while coronavirus sidelined play, is poised to surpass $1 billion in all-time earnings as soon as next year, before his current Barca contract ends.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/">Christina Settimi</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sportsmoney">SportsMoney</a>

gettyimages-1167251285-594×594

Ronaldo’s $105 Million Year Tops Messi And Crowns Him Soccer’s First Billion-Dollar Man

South Africa’s die-hard football fans bemoan the effect the lockdown is having on the game even as they attempt to keep the conversations going.



With sports events taking a big knock from coronavirus lockdowns globally, the venues and stadiums staging them have closed doors, and no one knows when the stars will come out to play again.



It is heartening though that in some places, local sporting groups, especially die-hard football fans, are keeping the spirit alive in their own way.



Take Football Conversations, a company founded by football fanatic Bandile Roro in 2017 and that is also airing as an eponymous show on Soweto TV.



Along with Tiisetso Mofokeng, the company’s CEO, Roro says the entire football community is in shock as they face an uncertain future.



“Football is about the moments, the comebacks and settling scores and when teams don’t have the opportunity to right yesterday’s wrongs today, then it becomes a problem not only for the football teams, but for the fans as well,” adds Mofokeng.



He says this particular anecdote does not only apply to the 90 minutes on the pitch but also to the information and content Football Conversations beams to the public on television.



“An episode that we air the week before, builds up a hunger and desire for a little bit more the following week and when we don’t get that opportunity to air, that’s how one sees how the pandemic poses a problem,” he says.



The lockdown has affected filming as their shows are usually shot in multiple locations to give every episode a different feel.



But the countrywide infections and deaths have stalled all such ambitions.



“This throws the question of morality; how is content creation important when people’s lives are at stake and that is something we had to understand, but also, on the other side of the coin, Football Conversations creates content as escapism at this time of uncertainty,” says Mofokeng.



“Football Conversations endorses the directive from the president,” adds Roro. “We do believe that this particular period will flatten the curve with fewer new infections and the sooner we adhere to it, the sooner we can return to our normal lives.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The company had signed a procurement contract with a private entity prior to the lockdown, but things are on standstill for now.



Hopeful that the Covid-19 infection rate will slow and the lockdown will be lifted, the duo are now planning their next road trips and a new show, Off Pitch Goals, on players and their businesses.



“We also produce podcasts on Spotify and YouTube to engage with our fans just to keep soccer discussions afloat,” says Roro.



The game may have been affected, but the goals stay the same.

Bandile Roro and Tiisetso Mofokeng at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg

Alive And Not Kicking: ‘Missing The Great Moments In Football’

Women’s football in the southern African region has picked up pace in recent years, benefiting from some ground-breaking work across all spheres of the sport. Sue Destombes is a key figure driving it. 



The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) is leading the charge in women’s football, and particularly so, its Secretary General Sue Destombes, who has overseen the introduction of women’s competitions at Under-17 and Under-20 level, to go with a senior championship, in the last year.



COSAFA has 14 member nations across the region, and industry
veteran Destombes is a key figure in driving an ambitious expansion of its
operations that last year saw them host six international tournaments in four
different countries – South Africa, Mauritius, Malawi and Zambia.



Destombes was recently recognized for her contribution to
football with a Lifetime Achievement honor at the 2019 Hollard Sport Industry
Awards.



She has been involved with the organization since the first men’s senior COSAFA Cup was played in 1997, and leads a team that has a heavy female influence, along with the head of the COSAFA media office, Lynda Greeff, and long-serving office manager, Nobuhle Masuku, among others.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="684" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1024x684.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42741" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Sue Destombes COSAFA General Secretary with Janine Van Wyk South Africa Team Captain and Amanda Dlamini Former South Africa Captain help conduct the Draw during the 2019 COSAFA Women Championship Draw on the 03 July 2019 COSAFA House Pic Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



In what has been typically a male-dominated industry,
Destombes has managed to leave her mark not only on COSAFA, but also the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) and global governing body FIFA.



“I have never found being a women a barrier to entry in
football, and cannot remember any situation where I felt excluded because I am
a woman, but that does not mean there is not a ‘boys’ club’ environment,”
Destombes tells FORBES AFRICA.



“It is not a problem in the business of football, but maybe on a social level, yes, there can be some exclusion. But I don’t work in football for the social gatherings, so it does not bother me.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="738" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1024x738.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42742" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1024x738.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-600x432.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1536x1106.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Sue Destombes, Cosafa General Secretary during the 2019 COSAFA U17 Boys draw at COSAFA House, Johannesburg, on 28 August 2019 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



Destombes says she is pleased that women are starting to
play a greater role in football administration, but says there is a long way to
go.



“In the 54 African member associations of FIFA, we only have
one female president in Isha Johansen from Sierra Leone. But we are slowly
starting to see a change in terms of female representation on executive
committees and even within the CAF secretariat.



“FIFA, for the first time in their 116-year history, have a
female Secretary General in Fatma Samoura (from Senegal), so maybe the boys’
club is being infiltrated slowly.”



Destombes has been determined to help grow the women’s game
in the COSAFA region – but not just for players. 



COSAFA’s mandate includes upskilling coaches, match
officials and even administrators, who all gain valuable experience, not only
from the tournaments that are played, but also from targeted workshops that
leave behind a lasting imprint in host cities across the region.



“We don’t just pitch up, play games and say goodbye,”
Destombes says. “We always leave a legacy in whichever country we are in. 



“We have done incredible work to develop male and female
referees across the region, many of who have gone on to make the FIFA panel. We
have put aspiring male and female coaches through courses to get their
D-License, which is really the first step in a coaching career.” 



Women’s football has been increasing in focus, with South Africa making the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in 2019. Their coach, Desiree Ellis, has spoken multiple times of how COSAFA helped her mould her squad, and her own skills, by providing quality competition at tournaments. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="663" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1024x663.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42743" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1024x663.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-600x389.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-768x498.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1536x995.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Mongameli Bobani, Sue Destombes (Cosafa General Secretary) and Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Deputy Mayor Thsonono Buyeye during the 2018 Cosafa Women&#8217;s Championship Zambia team arrival at Port Elizabeth International Airport on 9 September 2018 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



“It has long been COSAFA’s wish to grow women’s football and
we have made great strides in recent times. Last year was the first in which we
held three women’s competitions in the various age-groups, and we will do that
again in 2020,” Destombes confirms.



“It is about providing opportunity to girls to both play the
game, or be involved in another capacity such as coaching and administration.”



The senior COSAFA Women’s Championship that was held in
South Africa’s Port Elizabeth last year drew bumper crowds, suggesting there is
plenty of interest in the female game from fans.



But finding commercial partners is more challenging, admits
Destombes.



“One of the new tournaments we want to implement is a
women’s club Champions League, for teams across the region. That would truly
catapult the development of the game. But it is dependent on finding commercial
partners.”



That is true for much of the work done by COSAFA. While they
do get funding from FIFA for tournaments, it is a finite amount and does not
come close to covering the expense.



“Our number one challenge is the financial aspect,”
Destombes says. “We are the biggest of the six CAF zones that make up the
continent, with the most members, and we would like to include everybody.



“For example, our women’s Under-17 and Under-20 competitions
had eight teams competing last year, and we would love to expand that to at
least 12 to provide greater opportunity. 



“But that is a huge leap in the budget, so we need commercial partners and bullish broadcasters who want this type of content.



&#8211; Nick Said

Football – 2017 39th CAF General Assembly – Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall – Addis Ababa

‘The Boys Club Is Being Infiltrated Slowly’

By the time the mid-season transfer window closed at the end
of January, an estimated 2,000 footballers used the month-long opportunity to
transfer from one club to another.



It is one of the two periods in the year when clubs are
allowed to buy and sell players and although not as busy as the June-August
window, it is a frenetic time as clubs in the major football-playing nations
look to strengthen their teams for the second half of the season.



Among the list of movements this January were a bevy of common African names: Bangoura, Boateng, Diaw, Kamara, Mendy, Owusu, Sissoko and Touré. 



But while this might suggest there is a healthy exodus of
Africa’s top talent to the bigger, and more lucrative leagues of Europe, it is
but an illusion.



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2019/03/20/the-million-dollar-game/">The Million Dollar Game</a>



African footballers are still a wanted commodity, but not
necessarily those from the continent.



Instead, it is the ever-increasing numbers from the diaspora
– second- and even third-generation kids born in Europe to African parents who
are prized for the physical prowess and creativity that their African genes
provide, but also having had the benefit of a more formal footballing education
in Europe.



France has always been the primary destination for African
footballers with the top clubs long casting an eye over the best that the
continent has to offer.



But while there were many African footballers moving to and
from French clubs this January, not one arrived directly from an African team.



In England, Germany and Spain, none from them either. Two
Belgian clubs took players from academies in Mali and Senegal but not from
clubs.



Only Italy’s Atalanta spent €200,000 ($225,533) on William Tabi  from ASEC Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. His teammate in the Ivorian under-20 side, Wilfried Singo, also went from Denguélé  to Torino.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">It is as if the market has dried up and a lot of it has to do with the age restrictions on player movements,” London-based agent Rob Moore tells FORBES AFRICA.</blockquote>



South African Moore was at the heart of the biggest move of
the January transfer window as American Christian Pulisic went for some €60
million ($67.6 million) from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea.



“There is little doubt that when FIFA brought in the rule
that restricted the movement of players aged 18 it put African players at a
severe disadvantage,” adds Mike Makaab, whose agency has moved players to
Belgium, Germany, Greece and Italy in the past.



“Clubs want younger players because they believe they can
still mould them. It has been a major blow to the market although I wouldn’t be
surprised if that rule is changed.



“Obviously, it would have to come with strict rules and
restrictions on potential exploitation.”



But African football is about much more than only an
incubator of talent. It has established competitions like the Nations Cup,
Champions League and Confederation Cup, which now all enjoy fulsome coverage
with matches broadcast live around the world.



“Football clubs in Europe are spoiled for choice,” Makaab
adds.



“The market in Africa is competing with players from Eastern
Europe, from the Americas and now increasingly Asia. There is a lot of choice.



“I find that sometimes the clubs in Africa are not realistic in their pricing of players. They want too much for players who have already established themselves, not cognisant of the fact that clubs can find similar quality elsewhere in the world.”



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/10/04/unequal-pay-for-equal-play/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Unequal Pay for Equal Play (opens in a new tab)">Unequal Pay for Equal Play</a>



Moore says clubs in Africa must also realize that the
increasing sophistication of football and its growing technicality demands
better developed players, with physical prowess and skills now needing to be
matched by decision-making and sporting intelligence.



“This is probably why now there are so many young players
from the USA that are making a breakthrough in Europe. American youngsters grow
up with a lot more of theory of the game than those from Africa. It’s the way
they are coached at an early age.”



Historically, most transfers from Africa are from the west.
Players from north and southern Africa are paid better in their domestic
leagues and, therefore, tend to stay home.



“You find that South African footballers don’t really have
that ambition to go overseas anymore as the money in the Premier Soccer League
has improved. Once they get to the PSL, many of them tend to sit on their
laurels,” laments Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter, who feels it is imperative
that players move to Europe for the experience and increased competition.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Our national team is stronger if there are more players based at European clubs. I try to encourage players to get out there but not many make the move.</blockquote>



“The best African national sides are those with the most
players at the biggest clubs. That’s the reality,”&nbsp; Baxter adds.



When South Africa won the African Nations Cup title in 1996,
the majority of their players were either already at European clubs, or on the
brink of making the move.



Fast forward to this season and the country does not have a
single player in the top leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, and just
a handful plying their trade in France.



It’s a fact that correlates with the downward turn in fortunes for the national team.



-Mark Gleeson

football

African footballers are a wanted commodity but are not  necessarily from the continent

Some African football teams view the exorbitant cost of CAF
competitions a penalty.&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In the days before commercialization, when nationalism was
growing and newly, or recently, independent countries looked to make a mark, winning
an African football competition carried great currency.



It also carried the financial backing of the state,
oftentimes, with limitless expense as national prestige and pride were on the
line.



Effectively, national teams and top clubs were able to enter
and compete in continental competitions with little concern for costs.



The downside was that it also meant that football
associations had no independence. Their reliance on the state coffers – meaning
their business – was dictated to them by the government of the day.



That is still a factor in some African countries but these
days, football seeks to stand on its own feet, assert itself and get by on its
own resources – earning revenue from television rights deals, sponsorship
agreements and gate takings, which are all important to fund the expense of
participation.



But the reality of travel on the African continent is one of
enormous expense and football clubs are increasingly wondering whether prestige
and national pride is worth the end result, as they expend great fortunes on
playing against the other top teams from the continent. 



Some nations place more value on it than others. In the
Arabic-speaking north of the continent, the long-time dominance of clubs from
Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia is a source of regional pride and a massive spur to
remain as competitive as possible.



West African clubs still also attach a high value, but it
has been years, decades even, since they were regularly among the winners. The
independence of their football structures nowadays means resources are limited.



Clubs from West Africa&nbsp;
do well with the patronage of&nbsp;
benefactors as was the case with Accra’s Hearts of Oak, who were
assisted by businessman Harry Zakour, in the early 2000s when they were African
champions. More recently, Guinea’s Horoya, enjoys the backing of entrepreneur
Antonio Souaré.



The deep pockets of mining magnate Patrice Motsepe allow
Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa to consistently win domestic success and
qualify for the African Champions League as a result… and be competitive. He
has pumped an estimated R200-million ($14.4-million) into the club over the
last decade and encouraged his coachers to chase African success.



But this is not the attitude of most South African clubs,
who largely see competition north of their border, such as the Champions League
and the Confederation Cup, as a bothersome exercise. They participate with
clenched teeth as if carrying out a chore they have to complete but want to
dispense with as quickly as possible. 



There is a two-fold reason for this. The distraction from
domestic competition that remains a priority for insular-thinking South African
clubs and the exorbitant cost of participation in the Confederation of African
Football (CAF) competitions. “It is money that, quite frankly, would be better
spent strengthening our squad with more players,” says a candid Ari Efstathiou,
the Ajax Cape Town owner who says it costs anything between R250,000 to
R750,000 ($18,000 to $54,000) per game in African competition.



His side are now relegated but just two seasons ago were
competing in the African Confederation Cup.



“Of course, it is an honor to be able to represent the
country but in the long run, unless you actually win the trophy, it is a big
financial burden and there is not much to show for it at the end.”



Travel in Africa is exorbitantly expensive and when you are
forced to move a squad of some 30 players, coaches and support staff around the
continent, it quickly adds up into a massive bill.



Rarely are flights direct, with many clubs using hubs like
Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Dubai and Doha to move from one side of the continent to
the next.



The game costs are made up of travel, match-day security,
hotels, ground transport and paying for the referees. In a bizarre system, open
to much abuse, CAF forced the home club to pay for the flights and the daily
allowances of the referees but have since taken up much of their bill
themselves.



There is still a fulsome entry list each year for the two
annual CAF club competitions and the controlling body will point to an almost
100%&nbsp; success rate in the fulfilment of
fixtures.



But there is a growing sense that changes are needed to make the competition more viable, otherwise they face a slow demise. -Mark Gleeson

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Can Football Stand On Its Own?

A recent soccer clinic in Soweto had former Liverpool F.C. player John Barnes coaching young girls to become the future stars of Africa.

It’s high noon but the skies are overcast in Soweto on this Wednesday afternoon in October. It is business as usual in this urban Johannesburg township but as we approach Meadowlands, it starts to drizzle.
But rain or shine, at the Fiat Sports Centre here, a group of over 40 girls aged between 12 and 14 are oblivious to everything around them. Their eyes are trained on the ball as they make the most of the day out on the field with visiting retired Jamaican-born professional footballer John Barnes.
It’s a soccer coaching clinic with the star and the girls are wearing big smiles and bright red outfits.
The well-maintained field is separated into rectangles so the groups are smaller and easier to manage. Each section has a coach, balls and marking cones for the different skill-building tasks planned for the day.
Barnes pays close attention to the teams, occasionally offering advice to both the coaches and players.
<blockquote>“It is about empowering young girls and making them feel confident about expressing themselves. It is about making them feel confident that there are no barriers that stop them from achieving their goals,” he says.</blockquote>
The former Liverpool Football Club player and English Football Hall of Fame inductee has been playing football for as long as he can remember., so he only knows too well the preoccupations of these young minds.
He moved to England at the age of 12, and joined the professional ranks at 17 when he signed for Watford in 1981. Barnes later moved to Liverpool F.C. in his early 20s where he played for a decade.
Today, in Soweto, he motivates the girls on the field, goading them on to perform better than boys.
“You have to separate football when you talk about it in South Africa, into men’s football and women’s football. Men’s football is really well-advanced, they have huge support, lots of money, great players, but women’s football is just starting out. It is pleasing to see that young girls are now given an opportunity because young girls in Africa are told that they do not play football but they actually do,” says Barnes.
<div id="attachment_37650" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37650" class="wp-image-37650 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL.jpg 1654w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />John Barnes. Photo By Gypseenia Lion</div>
The girls receive coaching as part of the Goal global community initiative by Standard Chartered Bank. In South Africa, the program was launched in Tshwane in April 2015 and has since reached over 6,000 girls. The target for 2018 is just over 3,000 girls between Tshwane and Soweto.
In partnership with Altus Sport, an NGO developing youth and sport, the 2018 Soweto program includes this special interaction with Barnes.
Former Banyana Banyana player, Thando Dlamini, started coaching at the clinic this year. She says some of the girls lack discipline, and stresses how support from family members and the community can go a long way to help.
“You hardly see any of the parents coming to support the girls. I think if they came to the games and watch the girls, they will realize it is not about the misconceptions. The behavior has changed in some of the girls I worked with. Soccer teaches you discipline,” says Dlamini.
The star of the day at the soccer clinic, Mosima Magome, a Grade 8 student, agrees. She says she has been feeling more confident since starting soccer.
“People would always tease me because I am the shortest in class,” she says. The teenager looks up to global icon, Lionel Messi, because “he never quits, even when he misses a goal”.
Commenting on the general lack of interest in skills-building programs, Altus Sport’s Operations Manager Samantha Pennells says local professional sportsmen should give back to the community as well.
“You got a guy from Liverpool, like John Barnes. He is here in the community; it is not his community but he is here giving advice, giving tips. It was not just about sport, it was about life,” she says.
South African football veteran Steve Sekano, a guest at the soccer clinic, and Barnes share jokes on the sidelines.
The former Moroka Swallows Football Club midfielder runs a foundation within the community that aims to get the youth involved in sport. With hopes that sport will keep them out of trouble, Sekano advocates the need for more facilities in the area. He says that as a former professional, it is his duty to give back.
“People ask me why soccer is not the same as when you guys played. I say it is the same. But when you talk about soccer today, you talk about money. Because our players are earning a lot of money today. Those days, we were not earning a lot of money, we were committed. But our players need to up their game; our game must grow,” says Sekano.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-37649 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />
For Geraldine Matchaba, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand &amp; Marketing, South Africa and Southern Africa, at Standard Chartered Bank, the corporate world too has a responsibility to prioritize community-based issues. “Those are people who are your future employees, they are your clients and they are future leaders. You have to play a role. It is what we are doing with the Goal program,” she says.
Thoko Phakati, Sports Field Manager, is in charge of operations at the Fiat Sports Centre. The space that used to be a dumping site is now accessible to the community free of charge.
“We believe they also deserve a chance, why is it that only places like the Wanderers Stadium are supposed to look beautiful? So we are doing as much as we can here to give kids a chance. We have people like Steve Sekano who grew up here and became successful but if he were to tell you his story, you will find that he also had challenges growing up,” she says.
Soweto truly is the home of South African football, and the young girls here prove they too can chase a ball for 90 minutes. There is a long conversation to be had about policies that prioritize men over women in sport, but in the meantime, programs such as Goal and footballers like Barnes continue to make sure that new stars are born on the muddy fields of Soweto.
&nbsp;

SoccerClinicGirls_GL

Giving Girls Goals; Soweto’s Soccer Coaching Clinic

Lebo Mothiba, only 22, is viewed as a potential rising star who could rival the likes of Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar as one of South Africa’s greatest sport exports.

It has been rare for South Africa to have a player in Europe’s heralded top five leagues in recent times, much less one that is viewed as a potential rising star who could rival the likes of Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar as one of the country’s greatest sport exports.
But Lebo Mothiba has been making waves in France’s Ligue 1, which sits only behind Spain, Italy, England and Germany among the world’s elite leagues, and for the 22-year-old, this is just the beginning.
Mothiba recently joined Racing Strasbourg from Lille, the club who had scouted him from the Diambars Football Academy in Johannesburg in 2014.
His four years in France have seen a remarkable rise for a player who left South Africa as a wide-eyed teenager, fearful of how he would be received in Europe, but determined to grab his opportunity for fame and fortune.
Now fluent in French and banging in the goals for club and country, he is settled in his new home and more eager than ever to progress to an even higher level in the coming years.
For a young man from Tembisa, a township in Gauteng, South Africa, he is living a life he barely dared dream of when growing up and turning out for his father’s side.
“I played for my dad’s team, it was called Mighty Bucks. I was there for years,” Mothiba tells FORBES AFRICA in Strasbourg.
“When I turned nine, I went for trials at Mamelodi Sundowns and I ended up playing for the Under-11 side.
“I am from a footballing family, everybody plays football except my Mum. My sister played for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, my brother played locally in Tembisa and my dad, who has since passed on, also used to play. Football is in my blood.”
Now a hulking forward with a deft touch in front of the goal, Mothiba actually started as a center-back and his early role-models were defenders.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/10/27/how-one-female-south-african-footballer-is-forging-ahead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How One Female South African Footballer Is Forging Ahead</a>
“I was a center-back at Sundowns, I played there for two years up to Under-13. But that’s when Sundowns stopped their academy. I moved on to Kempton Park and that’s when the coach changed me to a striker.
“Because I was a center-back, I used to look up to defenders, especially this one guy from Nigeria, Taribo West. In Tembisa, some of my friends even started calling me ‘West’ or ‘Taribo West’, he was my role-model.”
His fortunes changed when he was scouted for the now-defunct Diambars Academy that had started in Johannesburg, set up by former France internationals Bernard Lama and Patrick Vieira.
<div id="attachment_37627" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37627" class="wp-image-37627 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="740" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-80x80.jpg 80w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />Strasbourg&#8217;s South African forward Lebo Mothiba celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Strasbourg (RCSA) and Dijon FCO on September 29, 2018. Photo by Frederick Florin &#8211; Getty Images.</div>
“I was at Kempton Park and in 2010, the academy came to South Africa from Senegal. The guys from Diambars Senegal came to scout me playing at Modderfontein. We won 16-1 and I was playing striker. The owners of Diambars obviously enjoyed the game because I was one of the players they took.”
That led to a move to Lille at the age of 18, a top side in France who had hit hard times, both financially and on the pitch.
He was sent on loan to Valenciennes in the division below, and it was there that people started to take notice of this powerful South African.
“It was good for me to go on loan and showcase my talent, because at Lille it was very, very difficult to take that step up to the first team,” Mothiba says. “For me to get more experience, and for my confidence, I think it was time for me to go.
“It was in Ligue 2, but it was very tough. It is not easy at all. It is a tough league and I went there to get game-time, to do my best and I scored goals.”
Such was his form that Lille recalled him early from the loan spell in January 2018 to try and help them avoid relegation. In the end, it was Mothiba’s goals that kept the side in the top division.
“It was a very tough six months for me, because I went back to a club where everybody was stressing and everyone was under pressure because of the potential of relegation.
<blockquote>“But I went there to help them because it is my home. It is a team that took me when I was young and it was hurting me seeing the team at the bottom of the league.”</blockquote>
His eye-catching performances caught the attention of Strasbourg, who paid a reported €4 million (approximately $4.6 million) for his services in August, with cash-strapped Lille reluctant sellers, but needing to bring money into the club.
He started with a bang, netting four goals in his first three starts for Strasbourg up until the international break in October, making him an instant hit with his new club’s fans.
Mothiba is the stand-out performer among compatriots in Ligue 1, Bongani Zungi (Amiens), Lebogang Phiri (Guingamp) and Keagan Dolly (Montpellier), and says the competition is a good fit for the skillset of most players from South Africa.
“If you are a South African player and you know what your goal is, it is a good league. You can learn a lot, a totally different type of play. South African players are technically very good, but here it is more aggressive and faster going forward,” Mothiba says.
&#8211; By Nick Said

Pic-supplied2

The South African Making Waves In France’s Ligue 1

South African women’s footballer Refiloe Jane, turning out for Canberra next season, has had a meteoric rise in the sport.

South African women’s footballer Refiloe Jane has had a remarkable rise in her career that will enter a new phase in the coming months when she turns out for Australian side Canberra United.
Jane was in Grade 11 when she was spotted in a player talent search, plucked from obscurity and put onto the path to a highly successful career with her technical ability already standing out from her peers.
The diminutive midfielder has since appeared at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016, captained the South African national side that is nicknamed Banyana Banyana, and is now set to become the latest player in the country to ply their trade abroad.
She is part of a growing contingent of exports, as just two years ago there were no players at clubs outside of colleges in the United States.
But since then her compatriots Janine van Wyk, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo have turned out for Houston Dash in the prestigious National Women’s Soccer League, Leandra Smeda now plays for top Lithuanian side Gintra Universitetas and Ode Fulutudilu plays at Finland side ONS.
Jane and fellow Banyana star Rhoda Mulaudzi will carry the mantle further when they turn out for Canberra next season.
For Soweto-born Jane it is an almost unbelievable level of success that started with winning a talent search at the age of 16, which came with a prize of a trip to England to train with professional clubs that opened her eyes to the level required to be a success.
“Winning the Gauteng Future Champions Talent Identification Programme really kick-started my career and gave me so much confidence to believe that I can play for a top local side and even internationally,” Jane tells FORBES AFRICA.
“The time I spent with Arsenal and Everton also opened my eyes up to what is required to be a professional player and I made sure that I put into practice what I learned there.
“Although I had not gone there for trials, both coaches of the teams wanted me to stay, but I was still at school. That is when I realized that I might actually have some special talent to offer the beautiful game.
<blockquote>“And that is when I started pursuing this dream of mine of wanting to go and play abroad. I am glad it’s finally happening.”</blockquote>
Jane is a key figure for the national side that will hope to win the African Women’s Championship in Ghana in November, though just finishing in the top three will get them a place at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and a first-ever place at the global finals.
It has also been a meteoric rise for her in a national team jersey, including wearing the captain’s armband.
“After joining Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in late 2010, I put my head down and said to myself that I am going to give everything I have to try and make it into the Banyana Banyana squad. 
“I feel very happy and honoured and appreciate the platform I have been given to showcase my talent and represent my country. It hasn’t been easy but with the determination and hard work, it was enough to get me here.
“I earned my first cap in Cyprus in 2012. I remember when I came on [as a substitute], we were leading against Northern Ireland and our coach then, Joseph Mkhonza, said to me, ‘this is your chance to start your national team career, run with it and see how far it takes you’. I cannot believe how far I have come.”
&#8211; Nick Said

South Africa v Brazil: Women’s Football – Olympics: Day 4

How One Female South African Footballer Is Forging Ahead

The South African women’s football coach, Desiree Ellis, on the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup, and why it is important to plan for a future after football. 

<ol>
<li>What are your biggest challenges coaching a national women’s soccer team? </li>
</ol>
I think it’s the same everywhere when you have to prepare for a match a week before the game.
<ol start="2">
<li>Would you say being a coach in South Africa is a lucrative career?</li>
</ol>
We have a semi-professional league, the Sasol League, many of the coaches have their own jobs so it is all about the passion and trying to make a difference.
<ol start="3">
<li>The biggest lesson you learned in your career? </li>
</ol>
Together, we can do anything. Football is a team sport but it is not just about the players, but the staff as well, each and every one has to play its part for it to be a success.
<ol start="4">
<li>As a woman, have you experienced discrimination on the field and how did you deal with it? </li>
</ol>
[There is a] lot of stereotyping that girls should not play football, but I had the support of both my parents and that’s all that mattered. I remember going to a match and guys walking by saying ‘let’s go watch these girls play and have a laugh’. After the game, they were our biggest supporters. We just tried to play the best we could and showed that we love the game and have the skills to play.
<ol start="5">
<li>What qualities do you believe make a good team? </li>
</ol>
There will always be special players in any team but teamwork is the most important for me, as the individualism of the special players will shine brighter through teamwork. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is a perfect example. The teams with a special player left the competition early…the likes of Belgium, England, Croatia and France who had special players but were more reliant on teamwork stood the test of time with France beating Croatia in the final.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sometime-in-africa/2012/10/01/football-money-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Football is Money in Africa</a>
<ol start="6">
<li>What is the one thing soccer players take for granted? </li>
</ol>
Not taking care of tomorrow as there has to be a future after football because not everyone is going to play professional football. When I was playing, especially in the national team, 90% of the players were unemployed but now 90%, if not more, have degrees or are currently studying.
<ol start="7">
<li>What is more important to you, time or money? </li>
</ol>
Definitely time. It might take a lot of time and effort to get where you want to be, but it will be time spent wisely.
<ol start="8">
<li>How do you stay financially prudent? </li>
</ol>
I try to stay within my budget but sometimes it’s very difficult as I like to spoil my nieces and nephews but I also try to save money monthly.
<ol start="9">
<li>The moment you step on the field, you….?</li>
</ol>
Immediately focus on the task at hand, getting the most of our training session; reaching our objective for the session.

Tag: football

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