Thread by @CashNSport

I recently did a thread on the importance of broadcast and sponsorship revenue to the #PSL and mentioned the ICASA intervention that led to the Siyaya deal falling through. I didn't go in depth into this but i thought i would take you through it now.

#AbsaPrem

As usual, my disclaimer. I am not an auditor, accountant or statistician nor am I a sports journalist. I am merely a concerned football fan who likes to read up on the financial side of sport and this is all publicly available information. Let us begin

It begins with the PSL thanking ICASA for the opportunity to make representations and making themselves available in the event that ICASA would hold public hearings on the discussion document.

#AbsaPrem #ICASA

The league then state their objectives as described in the NSL handbook which i referenced yesterday. i wont go into that but they include administering the league, facilitate development of the game and to use it's funds to achieve it's objectives etc...

They then talk to how popular soccer is in South Africa and how overwhelmingly black the support base is. According to the #PSL, "With regard to followers, soccer remains the top sport with 13.9 million adult followers. Of this, 13.4 million followers are black"

The quote The BMI Junior SportTrack 2016 report which states that, amongst juniors (aged 13 to 18 years), soccer is the top participation sport with 1.66 million participants and 3.7 million junior spectators.

#AbsaPrem #PSL

Where things start getting interesting is in a section around the benefit of broadcast revenue to the #PSL. This paragraph highlights just how big a role @SuperSportTV and the SABC play. The #PSL were hoping #Siyaya could add to their revenues as well but that wasn't to be..

They also go on to speak about the value of clubs. Personally, I have never seen numbers on the value of clubs but they state that in 2017, club valuations were, on average, around R50 million. I would love to find out how they came to this number. #PSL #AbsaPrem

Next is the benefit that players derive from broadcast revenue. Average wages for footballers increased significantly, from R3k- R5k pm to R40 - R60k pm and the top footballers’ income bracket has moved from R80 to over R400k pm

#AbsaPrem #PSL

The #PSL also look at the benefit of broadcasting on South African football and the various national teams. These benefits include improved funding for development structures, improved refereeing and improved stadiums among others.

In the next paragraph is the benefit to supporters and the economy. According to research by Grant Thornton in 2014 on the economic impact of professional soccer in South Africa, contributed towards the creation or sustainment of approximately 10 400 temporary and permanent jobs

....(cont) in the national economy. If the average income of these jobs were to be annualised, the payroll would amount to R956.9 million a year, according to Grant Thornton.

they go on to say, "In the 2017 financial year, the #PSL generated revenue to the value of R884.3 million. Of that revenue 59% was generated from broadcast rights; 35% from sponsorships with the balance of 6% made up from supplier contributions and gate takings"

What really surprised me comes up next and it relates to the costs that clubs have to incur. Bare in mind these are numbers from 2017. Without support from the league, most clubs would not be able to participate in the league at all. Here is an example of how bad it is.

#PSL clubs are required by the SASREA Act to provide for measures to safeguard the physical well-being and safety of persons and property at sports events. The costs amounted to an estimated R300k per home match depending on the categorisation of the event 😳

I have already established in previous threads how badly the league and #PSL clubs need the broadcast and sponsorship revenue. These paragraph from their own ICASA submissions spells it out.

The document the discusses the #PSL's disagreement with ICASA on their interpretation of the situation. The #PSL makes a very good point about how rugby and cricket also being public interest sports but not being subjected to the same ICASA ruling.

Long story short is that the #PSL, despite how much they have done to grow the league, are dependent fully on sponsorships like Absa and the broadcast deals. The Siyaya deal, had it worked out, would have dramatically changed fortunes for the league.

I am probably waffling now and should end it here. In the end, i think government took a political decision to an economic issue and hamstrung the league forever with the ICASA ruling. If you want to read the document, click here: icasa.org.za/uploads/files/…