Questionable administration is going to be the final nail in the coffin of sport in this beautiful country of ours.
I have spoken to many sports fans since the restart of action this year following the initial lockdown period in March and most of them couldn’t be bothered to watch their “favourite” local teams in action.
I’m talking about guys I know well – manne who didn’t miss a kick-off pre-Covid-19 chaos. I suppose it’s because the world has changed and sport is no longer near the top of the priority list.
With no fans allowed at stadiums, I can understand why people feel it’s a bit boring to watch games. You need crowds to create atmosphere.
Now if people aren’t watching games, they get their information from the media – regardless of the platform.
It’s here where I believe the game has suffered even more, with stories of questionable administration grabbing the headlines more often than not.
Just last week we had the Flyt Property Group drop a bomb on Western Province rugby, claiming damages after these two have entered into a partnership regarding the restructuring of Newlands.
You should know by now that this deal was also the catalyst for some board members walking away earlier this year.
Then it was also reported that MVM Holdings – the American company that wanted a 51% share in the Stormers – is now courting the Sharks instead.
What I do find strange is that, despite appointing a new chairperson of the board of directors in Ebrahim Rasool in September, WP is still without a chief executive. Is it not crucial, especially at times of discussions likes these, to have a CEO with a super understanding of the business industry?
Apparently they are going to start the search for one in January.
Now I’m not going to pretend that I know about the politics of Western Province at boardroom level because I don’t. I am a fan of the oval ball, love WP Rugby and what we, as fans, are seeing now is not good.
So if a fan can feel this way about a product, imagine how the workers who are the actual faces of the “company” must feel.
I can only imagine the uncertainty surrounding these employees and players.
Any worker will tell you that if there is smoke that a company is sukkelling, then you are going to start panicking.
Therefore, I believe next year will be the end of WP Rugby as we know it. Not only will the union move from Newlands to Cape Town Stadium, but it is my opinion that post-British and Irish Lions tour, we will see the back of a number of stars.
I reckon it was always going to be the case, but with this sort of uncertainty it will be even more so.
I haven’t even come to grips with the situation at Western Province yet, and daar drop nog ’n mail van Cricket South Africa.
Acting chief executive Kugandrie Govender is suspended pending a probe.
Mense, is there anyone left to run the show at CSA?
Again, I am not claiming to know all the ins and outs of what is happening in the boardroom, but a fool can see that it’s chaos over there.
As in the case of Western Province, these things filter down and you can only imagine the mindset of players whenever they represent the national team.
After last year’s World Cup, one of the CSA bosses said they wanted a closer working relationship with the team.
They wanted a shared culture. Asseblief nie, my man. We fans still want a winning team.
So while the WP guys have a choice of possibly moving to another franchise or going overseas, the situation is a bit different for our cricketers.
With the new Brexit rules, it doesn’t look like it’s as easy to play in England anymore.
That means they are perhaps stuck here.
But if the house is coming down, it’s tough to continue grilling the meat – you want to run and protect your assets.
CSA is not a happy place at the moment and you can only imagine that the mood is filtering down to a Proteas team that is in a rebuilding phase – a phase I believe will continue for a while still.
The bottom line is that administrators are messing up big time.
And if they spoil sport for the players - their employees - the product will suffer.
Once the product suffers, interest dwindles and once the interest dwindles, salaries will not get paid.
At the end of the day, the power lies with the fans. If they’re not interested in what you are trying to sell, then you won’t make money. Simple as that.
So come on, ladies and gentlemen, get it right for the sake of South African sport.
Boardroom battles are destroying our LOCAL AND SA teams
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za