Sport Industry Group

NO MORE CHEAP TICKETS FOR BAFANA FANS- 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00

South African football supporters can expect to pay no less than R50 to watch Bafana Bafana, after the SA Football Association announced that the days of cheap tickets are over.



SAFA reportedly lost money arranging pre-World Cup friendlies for which fans paid as little as R30 to watch according to SAFA chief executive Leslie Sedibe.



Sedibe said: ‘We can't go on like this, we want to play against big teams, and they cost big money. At the moment we are arranging matches at a huge loss.’



Tickets for the match against Niger at the Mbombela Stadium this weekend will cost between R50 and R100. 

Sedibe also added some blame to SAFA's current broadcasting deal with SABC for the high costs of arranging a Bafana fixture - and gave a hint that the public broadcaster could lose the broadcast rights if it did not come up with an improved offer.



‘Ideally you should be making money from the TV deal, but that's not the case. The SABC currently pays us a pittance. We have a bizarre situation where we have to pay for broadcast production costs for every match they (SABC) show. It is unheard of,’ said Sedibe.



The SABC's contract with SAFA expires in April, but Sedibe did emphasise that the public broadcaster would have first preference for renewal.



‘We prefer the SABC, but there's no doubt that we'll invite other bidders if they can't meet our requirements. Negotiations will start soon.’



‘The reality is that our relationship cannot continue under the terms of the current contract. It costs a lot to hire a stadium, pay both teams and the (Bafana) player bonuses,’ added Sedibe.



SABC lost the rights to broadcast Premier Soccer League matches to pay channel SuperSport four years ago, and if the broadcaster fails to come up with a financial plan that satisfies SAFA, a bidding war could ensue.

Liked this story? Interested in hearing more of the latest news from the South African sport industry? Subscribe to our free daily newsletter by simply sending your email address and those of any interested colleagues to harry@sportindustry.biz