“It was agreed between the players, us and Safa that we will not
reveal the figures to anyone.”
This statement by soccer agent Tony Irish, who represented Bafana
Bafana players in negotiations for World Cup bonuses, certainly doesn’t taste
like Irish coffee to any tongue.
It has proved a mission for the media to establish exactly how much
Bafana players will be getting in appearance fees and performance bonuses for
representing the 44-million South Africans at the World Cup.
In stark contrast, most international sides arriving in the country
did so on the back of reports in their native countries of how much they will be
raking in for carrying their countries’ hopes.
One of the most significant aspects of the game local football
authorities need to learn is that disclosing figures is in the public
interest.
After all, they are the national team, not a private squad.
How much players earn is a matter of public interest in South
Africa, just like in other countries.
What harm would knowing that each Bafana player will be getting
R4 million and a Mercedes-Benz if they win do?
We are not asking to know players’ salaries – something which is
also public knowledge in other countries.
All the public wants to know is how much will the players
representing them be paid.
This secretive tendency is even more prevalent among Premier Soccer
League club officials.
A few weeks ago, we did a story on how much SuperSport United
players receive during their club’s end-of-the season awards ceremony.
Imagine the shock when Mazolman Skhosana uttered through his
infamous dental structure that such was not to be revealed to the public.
On the same story, Kaizer Chiefs’s Bobby Motaung refused to divulge
how the R4.25 million Telkom Knockout windfall was split between the club and
players.
Perhaps the two – and other secretive officials – should take a
leaf from Roger de Sa’s book.
The Nedbank Cup final whistle had barely been blown when the
Students coach publicly announced that his players were set to get at least half
of the R6 million loot they had won.
Soccer officials need to know that while they don’t want to go the
easy, transparent way, scribes will always use other means to get the
information.
There’s an old saying in Sepedi: “kgogo le ge o ka e tima meetse o tla bona e nwele” (even if you do not give a chicken water, it will drink nonetheless).