The building of sustainable institutions necessarily requires taking a long-term view. This is besides the fact that long-term views are difficult to undertake in a world where instant gratification is increasingly the order of the day.
A sustainable institution necessarily requires a culture that is self-policing where members’ natural actions and tendencies are in keeping with the letter and spirit of the institution.
To best understand institutions, you need to understand the growing of a forest.
A forest is a life supporting ecosystem. It requires consistent commitment, working with the environment, working through generations, combating natural disasters and destructive human activities.
Growing a forest is a process of bringing a diverse partnership of individuals and groups together to realise a common vision of sustainable development in a large landscape.
The stakeholders involved define what sustainability means in their own context, identify a common vision and set goals, devise a governance structure and strategic plan, then work together to achieve the goals set out in that plan. In turn, the process nurtures a depth of trust and transparency, increasing the willingness to implement innovative solutions.
Growing a forest take between thirty and forty years!
With great thanks to the founding members of the Board of Governors, we were able to build a foundation for this league similar to the growing of a forest.
In the forty years of the NSL, and twenty-eight years of professionalism through the PSL, the forest has endured – in fact it has thrived. Year twenty-eight is fair time to reflect on the state of the forest we have nurtured. It has taken a labour of love and utmost care. It has stretched to the limit, the financial and emotional investment tsa beng – by the owners. It has given new meaning to selflessness. Running a platform where everybody else makes money other than the clubs who are the convenors of the platform.
We started with a clear goal: To build a world-class league that is competitive and unpredictable.
Competitiveness requires far more than the rhetorics and policies. It requires action on the ground that not only adapts to the environment, but create a unique and relevant edge that sets a value proposition apart.
Competitiveness requires market leaders to lead. Right from the formation of the NSL, Dr Motaung and I realised that this onerous responsibility was on our shoulders.
Competitiveness requires believers, as most of what you set out to do is new, in unchartered territory.
We had an attorney in our midst. Someone trained to frame arguments. A meeting with him would help us read, not only from what he said, but from what his body language conveyed. Dr Motaung and I met with Mr Raymond Hack at his house, who at the time led Wits University Football Club. It was with Raymond that the mission became legal. In Raymond we had a believer in the fold.
As we went through the rigours of what is required towards building a competitive league, whose encounters were not predictable, the Board of Governors undertook a benchmarking trip to France and England, to compare where those markets, leagues and clubs were relative to ours. We visited Soccerex in France, and four teams in England. On our return from this mission, I was met by a delegation of believers – Mato Madlala, Natasha Tsichlas, Ria Ledwaba and Sturu Pasiya. They urged me to lead, the new foundation as the Chairman. To fulfil this, the constitution needed amending, which they spearheaded.
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, this was the beginning of our ‘skin in the game’ system of governance, where the owners take charge of their common destiny, whilst continuing to compete vigorously on the field of play. I am thankful to these believers for their confidence and support. The league’s success is filled with moments where believers spearheaded our chartering of new horizons.
The PSL value proposition faced, right from the beginning, the historical challenge of being discounted in the market. Cheap black input was a structural pillar of the old South Africa’s economy. With soccer being a predominantly black offering in South Africa, it was terribly discounted. A major historically supportive sponsor of soccer in South Africa asked when we presented the professional proposition, “With due respect gentlemen, please tell me what has changed other than the logo? Why are you asking me to pay more for a product that is for all intents and purposes the same except for the word “professional” substituting the word “national” in your name?”
This question was from a sponsor that supported soccer in the dark days. A friend of soccer. If that was the view of a friend, you can imagine the view held by those whose inherent belief was the inferiority of the “black” product. The birth of the forest started with a baptism of fire.
It did not help at that time, soccer stories off the field of play received more media attention than the focus on the game. Soccer administrators were given more attention, than the magic makers on the field of play. Journalists’ premiums were determined by their dark sources that portrayed soccer as an environment of dishonesty and chaos. Consumption of the game through print media was tantamount to following a series of scandals. This scandalous view of soccer we encountered from boardroom to boardroom, as we traversed the length and breadth of corporate South Africa selling the professional offering.
It was maybe a blessing in disguise that we started with such material and perceptual hardships, as we might not have survived the challenges we faced in the course of our building this forest, some of them existential.
It is not a coincidence that our proposition contained a powerful defence mechanism. It was borne out of necessity. When we made strides, we were met with comments like, “Let’s see how long it lasts?” We responded with a professional value proposition built out of consistency and constant innovation to last. After successfully barking the trend, our funding model became a campaign target for the destruction of the forest through state organs.
We have weathered many storms, none more unforeseen and rapidly devastating as Covid-19. The decision to complete the season in the bubble took guts. We managed to complete the season without a single fatality in the bubble. It cost a hundred million rands of unbudgeted funds to successfully execute the bubble. The movement of people had been completely halted, except the few frontline workers, to whom we are eternally grateful. The nation needed our soothing and conversation fuelling content for its mental wellness.
MultiChoice has, together with the PSL, stepped up beyond providing high quality content, which will remain primary in our joint offering. The PSL and Multichoice have the same understanding of our role in society. We are motivated by the same values that recognise we do not exist in isolation from society. Meeting of developmental challenges and charities in moments of need match the commercial side of our partnership. The creation of the Reserve League, the Multichoice Diski Challenge, that enjoys television coverage, exposes the under 23 league to an audience which in turn makes it sponsorable.
Through the GIBS programme, Multichoice creates longevity for the players’ careers, extending their playing years into fulfilling careers beyond their playing days. The devastating effect of Covid-19 would have overwhelmed the PSL had MultiChoice not been flexible and provided shock absorbers in an unprecedented time of need.
We would not have achieved this great feat without our MVP – our Most Valuable Partner, MultiChoice. It is for this reason that I ask Mr Calvo Mawela, the CEO of MultiChoice, to stand for a well-deserved ovation from the members. Mr Mawela, Calvo, thank you for your being a robust partner. The forest would have been gutted, causing irreparable harm. At a time when most were negotiating discounts, cancellations and breaching of contracts. We received from you a letter of comfort in which you assured us that payments will be met without any variation, with neither penalties nor deductions. We were most emboldened by your letter and enabled by your support in bringing the bubble to fruition. As a content creator, we cannot ask for a better platform than you provide. Our value propositions enjoin us at the hip, a failure to move together in unison will result in us tripping. Thank you for being our MVP.
Ladies and Gentlemen, a superior offering is not enough if it is delivered without consistency. Our quest for consistency is, as a result, non-negotiable. The maintenance of our non-negotiable consistency depends on our governance system which is built in recognition of factors that are sacrosanct – too valuable to be interfered with.
(1) We are a conglomeration of clubs that are in competition with each other. Calls have been made that because of this, we should be administered by the so-called independent arbiters. We were there before, it is the failure of that model that brought about the ‘skin in the game – Ya-Beng (of the Owners)’ model that we have in place today. Beng (the Owners) as represented by the Board of Governors, has put those that are most affected, and stand to lose the most in charge of their destiny. These are men and women that have come to appreciate that the centre has to hold. The Executive Committee that the BOG elects, do not represent their clubs and narrow interests. They are entrusted in taking care of the collective interest of the members. This is achieved through a transparent governance system, which is clearly laid out in the core governing documents and adjudicating structures of the league. We were so ahead of the curve that the FIFA Club Licensing Regime found our Compliance Manual already in place. We have through experience come to decipher that the quest for ‘independent’ input does not have to mislead us into abdicating to unaffected careering people.
(ii) The maturity of the league’s adjudicating structures are such that personal influence is minimal. The decisions and judgement are consistent and precedence setting. We are at a stage where the league needs to document and formalise its jurisprudence.
(iii) We have not shied away from austerity when it is the right thing to do. We reduced the league to sixteen teams when eighteen teams, although popular, was not sustainable. This hard decision created space for unpredictable results that added excitement and revenue.
(iv) The solidity of our governance system has derisked sponsor association with the league. Today sponsors pay a premium to have brand associations with the PSL.
(v) Today is testament to democracy that has consistently governed the league from day one. Elections every four years; an Annual General Meeting every year; meeting of the Executive Committee every month – all these without fail. Ladies and Gentlemen, we go to bed and wake up daily with the knowledge that we cannot dry tomorrow’s washing with today’s sun. The future demands of us to think about opportunities and challenges ahead. Our digital strategy is for example closely examining the migration to streaming. Consumption of the future is clearly not going to be constrained by geography of any kind. Like telephony migrated from a device on the wall or table to the pockets of individuals, so is content consumption. This exercise is forcing a total relook at the product, the distribution, promotion and pricing as it will have a bearing on all of these factors.
Going forward, we are privileged to have supporters and fans that invest knowledge in their consumption of our product. Their commentary indicates an immersion into the total fixture. They clearly watch all the matches, not just their teams. Tabulate this insight against the reach through social media, we have a multifaceted conversation that continues unabated. So important is the fixture that its congestion, leading to postponements, becomes a broken promise to the supporters and sponsors alike.
We do not have the latitude of having our fixture turn into moveture. Our content is created at our match events. The ease of viewing through television has had a long-term effect on match attendance. There are however on average a few thousand supporters and fans that attend match events. You can hear them on television but you largely do not see them. That has affected the product look and feel as it appears that most of the matches are played in empty stadiums. Mr Mawela, we need to urgently have the main camera face the main stand. We are missing out on the FOMO opportunity from supporters and fans that do not see how trendy it is to be at a match event. Yes FOMO – fear of missing out.
The cultural phenomenon that is the PSL is on the rise again. This time around it has no gate keepers. It is fuelled by citizen reporting on social media. The forest is growing in its variety of fauna and flora.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is eternal gratitude whose public expression is due. Our NSL proposition includes the National First Division which plays an indispensable developmental role. Marketers find it hard to place the NFD as philanthropy, and marketing sits in different spheres in corporate South Africa. The Motsepe Foundation’s roots in communities helped not only fund the NFD, but educate the market in recognising sponsorable developmental assets. Please join me in conveying our heartfelt gratitude to Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe for being a Godsend that sponsored the Motsepe Foundation Championship financially and perceptually.
This year, the twenty-eighth year of professionalism of the league is the 80th birth year of one among its founders. He has been there in action through every nook and cranny. He is a representation of the values that built from scratch and grew to fruition this forest. He knows no other business than football. His view of market leadership is informed by the wisdom in the book of Luke, “To whom more is given, more is required”‘. He knows that when market leaders fail to lead, the sector they represent falls apart. He agreed to receive an equal dividend with other members, even though his investment is proportionally much higher. His is never confused or conflicted about when he is in competition, which Kaizer Chiefs supporters demand of him with every match, and when he is in cooperation, which his role as an investor, BOG and Executive Committee member demands of him. It is for this reason that I ask Dr Kaizer Motaung, our esteemed member, to stand for a well-deserved ovation by all of us. K, thank you for your unfailing dependability and your bankable word always.
There is no sporting code in South Africa that permeates race, gender, age, geography and affiliations like soccer. The geographic plurality of soccer in our beloved South Africa has its selfless champions. Pillars, boNtate Petrus Molemela, Ntate Mike Mokoena, endured the heavy cost of making professional football thrive outside the big cities. Today one of the great pathfinders, a champion of the geographic plurality of soccer in South Africa is taking a bow. He never, in all aspects of his life, deserted Venda. He is a living embodiment of the all-powerful, “Shumela Venda” mantra. He championed development and professionalism where it is most challenging – the country’s hinterlands.
Let us all rise a s we accept Mr David Thidiela’s bow and confer an award of selfless service to this great pathfinder and champion. Selfless dedication whilst laudable has a displacing effect on families. I will therefore be remiss if I did not include a word of gratitude.
Ladies and Gentlemen, twenty-eight years down the line. The NSL’s unequalled reach has an even richer impact. Another hearty word of gratitude goes out to, our sponsors – Betway, Nedbank, MTN, Carling and The Motsepe Foundation; broadcasters Supersport and The SABC; media houses; the BOG; the Executive Committee; the CEO and staff; the technical staff members and players of all the Clubs; the match officials; members of the PSL judiciary; the supporters and fans – the entire value chain.
It is befitting to conclude with a recognition to winners and winning.
I went on an expedition in search of a word that best describes Mamelodi Sundowns’ winning of seven PSL Premierships in a row. No one word was sufficient to describe Mamelodi Sundowns’ great performance. Whereas the word Unprecedented, best captured that this has never been done before, it fell short of expressing the sensational part of the success best captured by the word Wow. Both unprecedented and wow fell short of describing the great courage, skill and strength that was displayed, the fact that this was a Feat. The word Record had to then enter the mix of words used, yet alone it missed the bearing this record has on the future. As a result, the word Momentous entered the fray. This word search exercise would have been incomplete without due consideration of the Pitoria lingua franca. The people of Mamelodi have a word to express a drubbing of any kind – the word is Nyedisa.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me as we recognise Mamelodi Sundowns’ Unprecedented, Momentous, Record setting Feat that kept the PSL Wowed for seven straight years with Drubbings best described by people of Mamelodi when they say repeatedly, with immense pride, “Re ba Nyedisitse”.
SOURCED FROM THE PSL WEBSITE.
