2010 Legacy Project briefings: Department of Arts and Culture & SA Football Association

Meeting report

2010 World Cup Legacy: Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) briefing
Mr Mbulelo Jokweni, Acting Deputy Director general, Department of Arts and Culture, indicated that the Director General and Chief Financial Officer were unable to be present at this meeting as they were briefing the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture. His presentation would outline what the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC or the Department) aimed to achieve from the FIFA World Cup, and what was actually achieved. The new vision would build on the achievements.

Ms Duduzile Mazibuko, Chief Director: Manager of the FIFA World Cup, Department of Arts and Culture,
said that the five objectives of DAC in respect of the World Cup were to ensure that it was truly an African World Cup, that it achieved social cohesion and nation building, the 2010 My School Adventure programme, to ensure that all sectors of society were enthused and excited about the World Cup, and that the Arts and Culture Programmes, which included some funded programmes and viewing areas and the Legacy Projects, achieved publicity and success.

The Department had invited five qualifying countries to join it as part of the hosting of the World Cup. The Kenako Road Show toured to Cameroon and Algeria, and encouraged countries to come to South Africa to display their arts and culture and to perform. Artists from those countries were invited to join the DAC at Africa Day. The WindyBrow allowed for programmes involving Continental artists to come together and explore arts and drama and other genres. An artist exchange programme was established between South Africa and Ghana. South Africa established a mutual performance arrangement with the Ghanaian National State Theatre.

The national symbols popularisation spoke to the mandate of the Department around social cohesion. A national passport was developed with all the national symbols, and the DAC set out to ensure that people knew and understood the national symbols and the protocol around the flag and anthem. The national symbols passport was an educational booklet, and leaflets were included in the national newspapers. The anthem was published in eleven languages. A campaign to ensure a flag in every school would be intensified.

Eighteen projects were activated during the World Cup. As part of a rural development programme a mobile theatre was taken to rural communities in the North West and included some of South Africa’s best loved theatre productions. That would now be taken to other provinces. The Pan African Craft Exhibition was based in Johannesburg but would also be taken to other provinces. Artwork and crafts were sourced from the five qualifying countries, to promote appreciation of art from around the Continent, and this exhibition would also be taken to the country.

The Department used the My 2010 School Adventure Programme as a platform to educate people around our national symbols. The Department wanted to inculcate good citizenship at a school level. The national symbols booklet would be taken to schools and the Department would like to have an active media campaign with the children as well. All the collateral material from the FIFA World Cup was collected from the Local Organising Committees, and DAC would like the schools using this to make caps, handbags and pillow cases to capacitate the art programmes in schools. For 2011 the Department wanted the children to use the branding that came out of the World Cup. It also wanted to include infrastructure as part of the Legacy Programme, and to that end had engaged with provinces around which institutions and which art centres they wanted to develop.

Discussion
Ms B Mncube (ANC) said the President had set up an investigation into Arts and Culture flowing from the World Cup policy. She asked which of the provinces were implicated, how wide was the investigation and whether this would impact on the legacy.

Mr Jokweni responded that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had not yet completed the investigation, and most of the detail would come out in its report. It included looking at the budget of 2010 that had been used for projects that were not 2010 related.

Ms Mncube was concerned that there seemed to be no common understanding as to what to do when the anthem was sung. For instance, men should know to remove their hats and caps. South Africans must be taught what to do. Players must be the first people to reflect what to do when the national anthem was sung.

Ms Mazibuko responded that part of the training on the national symbols included the anthem, the protea, the flag and how it should be flown, and how the anthem should be sung. She took the point that a more concentrated effort was required to educate the public around the protocols. The Department did try to do that before the World Cup, with a lot of radio and television interviews, and had travelled to communities, but the effort would be intensified. 

Ms Mncube thought that there should also be a flag in every department’s building.

Ms Mazibuko thought that was a fair suggestion, and would suggest it to the Department of Heraldry.

Ms Mncube asked whether the DAC interacted with the Department of Education on the incorporation, in the syllabus, of the principles of good citizenship.

Ms Mazibuko clarified that the DAC worked with the Department of Basic Education and would continue to do so.

Mr M de Villiers (ANC, Western Cape) was interested to know which other departments were role players in this programme. He noted that the DAC knew it wanted to achieve with the plan, especially with sport, art and culture amongst the youth, and in the schools. He asked about the monitoring and evaluation on the programme and the plan, and also asked when the Department would be ready on that programme.

Ms Mazibuko responded that officials in the Department were responsible for monitoring and evaluation of the programmes that DAC funded. Three site inspections were done on all the projects that the Department funded, the Department had a presence during the World Cup and had a pile of reports to evaluate. Most of the programmes were one-off, with the primary purpose of entertainment, but educational programmes were also meant for entertainment.

Mr de Villiers said there were different understandings in communities around the Fan Fest and Fan Parks and there were problems regarding the spending of funds given to the organising groups in the different areas. He asked if there had been an audit.

Ms Mazibuko responded that government committed to 46 public viewing areas, and DAC was responsible for thirteen viewing areas. No funds were transferred to any province. The SABC brought the stage and the screen, the DAC brought the national artists, and the provinces were responsible for the local artists. No funds were transferred to any department.

Mr T Mashamaite (ANC, Limpopo) asked how many booklets on the national symbols were distributed to the public and to schools, as none were apparent in the rural areas.

Ms Mazibuko clarified that during the World Cup the Department produced over 500 leaflets, and the same information was contained in the national passport. The initial run of the national passport would be about 250 000 copies. The National Symbols Passport would be distributed by the Heraldry Department, who would also be responsible for distribution.

Mr Mashamaite asked how many artists benefited from participation in the World Cup programme.

Ms Mazibuko said she could provide the numbers at a later stage.

Mr Mashamaite asked whether the Department could confidently claim that the South African brand was successfully marketed for the FIFA World Cup.

Ms Mazibuko responded that the Department worked together with the International Marketing Committee and South African Tourism, and could obtain statistics from both. She said that the evidence seemed positive, from the number of cars, houses and companies who displayed flags. Flags were produced and distributed at schools, at shopping centres, and in rural communities.

Mr S Plaatjie (COPE, North West) asked which areas the Department had focused on when rolling out theatre productions, and if these had been taken to rural areas.

Ms Mazibuko said all the programmes funded were based on proposals submitted. The North West province submitted a proposal to do more around theatres, but other provinces were not funded because they did not submit any proposals.

Mr Plaatjie asked how successful the Department was in implementing the national mandate in rural areas, and whether people in the rural communities had benefited. He also asked what the Department had learned from the 2010 World Cup tournament.

Ms Mazibuko responded that there were certainly lessons learnt from the World Cup. One was that given sufficient time, the Department could achieve much. The Kenako programme was taken on a little late in the process, and if the Department had done that earlier, it could have achieved more. The importance of cooperation between departments was another lesson. Time and resources issues had been grappled with by the DAC, both before and after the World Cup. The Department was pleased with how people rallied around the programmes and how communities were always willing to assist. Other issues revolved around how to deal with officials at ground level, how to work with stakeholders and which government departments had proved willing.

Mr Plaatjie asked whether the DAC was making strides in planting seeds of good citizenship in both urban and rural areas.

Ms Mazibuko suggested that this could probably be articulated better in a separate presentation.

Mr de Villiers asked the DAC for a brief summary on the budget for each programme.

Ms Mazibuko gave some context as to how the legacy would be rolled out in the Department. The 2010 Unit was not a permanent unit of the Department; so all legacy work would be given back to the unit within which it resided. The My School Adventure resided in the Arts, Culture and Society Directorate. A recommendation was also made to the Heraldry Department and the DAC would appreciate another opportunity to come back with a more detailed presentation and budget, because she would have to get that information from those units. She asked to defer response on the budget and on the flag on every school to the next meeting, where she would give more substance to this aspect.

Ms M Boroto (ANC, Mpumalanga) noted that the DAC had not mentioned any challenges, and wondered what they were. She noted that the presentation was very general and the Committee needed specific facts. She noted that artists of South Africa had the opportunity to promote themselves, but she wanted to know what they might have been paid; the Committee needed to know, for oversight purposes, exactly what happened. She also had understood that a particular artist was paid not to perform, and needed details of this. She asked what other programmes the Department had in mind and the budget for those programmes. She noted that the DAC took some programmes to the North West, and asked what happened in other provinces, particularly rural provinces. She needed to know specifically about Mpumalanga. She also called for details of the programme for the mobile exhibitions to be staged in rural community art centres, and time lines on the Pan African Craft Exhibition to tour from province to province.

Ms Mazibuko took the point about the need for more specifics.

The Chairperson asked DAC how the Department would ensure that there was flag in every school since this had been on the Department’s programmes for many years.

Ms Mazibuko asked to defer response on the budget and on the flag on every school to the next meeting, where she would give more substance.

Ms Boroto believed DAC had a strategic plan, with budgets allocated to each aspect of the operational plans. This was what the Committee wanted to hear about.

Mr W Faber (DA, Northern Cape) said he was utterly disappointed with the report, and noted, in particular, that it did not include any financial statements, although this Committee must oversee how the finances were spent. He did not find it acceptable also to have no projections on what the programmes would cost. He thought the Department should come back with facts not generalisations and said that the Committee was wasting time looking at this report.

Ms Mncube added that the Department must do proper preparation, not say that it would have to revert with the information. The Department should have consulted with the relevant people before presenting.

Mr Mashamaite aligned himself with these remarks.

Mr Jokweni apologised profusely and said that figures would be attached to the next presentation.

2010 Legacy: South African Football Association (SAFA) briefing
Mr Kirsten Nematandani, President, South African Football Association, noted that he and two colleagues were currently working under the 2010 Local Organising Committee and were involved in issues of legacy. They were engaged with putting in artificial turf across the country, and in grass roots football development. The programme focused on children between six and twelve years old. The third programme was currently being launched in Bloemfontein and one more was likely to be launched in the Northern Cape. The South African Football Association (SAFA) was mandated to develop and promote the game of football in accordance with the statutes of FIFA.

The Chairperson and Members noted that copies of the document had not been provided to the Committee in advance, and reminded Mr Fredericks that this should not happen again.

Mr Greg Fredericks, Head: Legacy, SAFA, apologised that the document had not been copied. He noted that it had been too long to e-mail and that he had intended to have it copied on the way but the delegation was caught in traffic.

He noted that the World Cup was a wonderful opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to football in South Africa. The three pillars of FIFA’s mission were to develop the game, touch the world and to build a better future. SAFA embraced that mission, which could be seen through its projects. FIFA had managed, to a large extent, to dispel Afro-pessimism. South Africa demonstrated that it could excel at hosting world-class events with first class precision. The success of an African World Cup that was safe, well organised, and well attended was widely reported to have improved the image of South Africa abroad. It showed the world that Africa had infrastructure, development, growth and racial integration, and it reflected the most positive image of Africa and South Africa.

Tourism would probably be the biggest legacy of the World Cup. South Africa was recognised for its hospitality and beauty. 700 million people watched the closing ceremony – more than any other event – thus putting South Africa on the map. According to research conducted among international tourists who attended the World Cup, 92% said they would recommend South Africa as a travel destination.

In terms of nation building, the World Cup also managed to unite South Africans, crossing income and race divides and instilled a belief that anything was possible. It saw an unprecedented outpouring of patriotic feeling in South Africa, with the country’s flag flying on cars, businesses and homes; and that sense of community circled out to include the rest of the Continent, as could be seen in the Ghana vs Uruguay match, where black and white people came together to support Ghana.

The infrastructure legacy included the building of world-class stadia, world-class airports, world-class roads, improved public transport infrastructure, world-class telecommunications infrastructure, and SAFA House, the new home of South African Football.

Mr Fredericks noted that the Local Organising Committee’s own legacy worked on three pillars: the Artificial Turf programme, the Green Goal programme, and the Football Programme. SAFA had insisted, from the outset, that South African football must receive a legacy. It had aimed for one football turf being built in each of the 52 SAFA regions, complete with clubhouse, change rooms and ablution facilities, perimeter fencing and training lights. That would be one of the most tangible legacies for football from the World Cup. FIFA committed to provide the necessary training for the management and maintenance of the turfs. A quality football development programme would be put in place at each of the football turfs. The Dutch Football Association committed to train 2010 local coaches for SAFA over the next four years between the two World Cups.

SAFA believed the facilities could not just be used for football, and had thus developed youth development programmes at the turfs, using football as the vehicle. Programmes included computer based educational programmes, life-skills and leadership training, HIV and AIDS and anti crime initiatives. An agreement had already been signed with the Foundation for a Safe South Africa Run, of which Roelf Meyer was the Chairperson. The organisation undertook to run a Youth Zone at the first ten facilities, which was already in operation. It did computer training and life skill programmes for young people, which SAFA believed to be a very important component. SAFA managed to get computers from FIFA, from the Legacy World Cup, for all 52 SAFA regions. SAFA was talking to State Information Technology Agency about training for young people working with computers, noting the shortage of computer technicians in the country.

It was planned that solar panels and rainwater tanks would be installed at the venues, an indigenous tree planting programme would be instituted, and that there would be education around waste education and recycling. There was a tailored HR programme for each facility. It was also planned to have small business huts around the facility, using containers offered from Safmarine, to manage the development that would in any event probably happen, to allow people to run a spaza shop or meet other community needs. A facility management committee, consisting of the local authority, the football people and any other community structures operating in the area, would be put in place.

To date funding had been received for 27 of the 52 facilities from the National Lottery. The locations were agreed with regional SAFA structures and affected municipalities. The first six had been completed (across provinces) and the remaining 21 facilities from this funding were to be completed by end February 2011. SAFA sought to partner with provinces, cities and other funders to acquire additional funding to construct perimeter fences, and put up training lights, as well as to achieve all 52 turfs.

27 sites were selected by the SAFA regions for the Artificial Turf Programme, and the Departments of Sport in the provinces were involved. He explained that artificial turf would be unaffected by weather and was resistant to harsh climatic conditions, was ideal for stadia that cast a shadow, and had easy maintenance and low maintenance costs. Fewer playing fields were required because of greater longevity. It was ideal for wider potential use, including training, matches and cultural events, and resulted in improved playing conditions that remained constant all year round, as well as being available for use for more than eight hours a day, seven days a week.

Mr Fredericks showed slides depicting the sites before they were developed, and their transformation. SAFA had insisted that quality facilities, to international standards, must be built, and was extremely excited at the results. The sites catered for football, youth and community development. Challenges included obtaining agreement and approvals from the local authorities, the council procedures, and the soil conditions.

Mr Fredericks outlined that there were also other African legacy projects that were a direct result of this World Cup. These included assistance to 52 regions of SAFA in the country, based on the idea of Win in Africa, which went beyond the realm of sport. 52 artificial turfs were completed across the African Continent in all the other countries. A project – “20 centres for 2010” - was not football-centred programme, but was part of the Football for Hope social responsibility programme of FIFA, and involved 20 centres being built across Africa, of which five were in South Africa. One had been completed in Khayelitsha at the Football for Hope Centre, which had a mini football pitch and some buildings where education programmes and health for young people was taking place. All football regions in Africa had benefited from a financial assistance programme worth US$53 million. The allocation of the under 17 and under 20 World Cups to Nigeria and Egypt also resulted from the 2010 Football World Cup being held in South Africa. International partnerships for sports studies at UNISA and Nelson Bay Universities were instituted.

The Football for Hope development programme included sustainable social and human development programmes focusing on football as the central tool in the areas of health promotion, peace building, education and anti-discrimination and social integration. SAFA’s Football for Hope Forum as held in Sedibeng last year, and in Alexandra in 2010, where 32 teams of youngsters between the ages of 15 and 18 met from across the world, primarily to play football, but also to socialise, to learn about one another’s cultures, to have good citizens’ programmes, health and education programmes. A Medical Centre was established at Wits University as part of the medical initiative, with the main aim of maintaining and improving health.

Mr Fredericks concluded by quoting Nelson Mandela “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite the people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair”.

Discussion
The Chairperson noted that the artificial turf pitches were very good, but asked what had been SAFA’s contribution to education. He noted that the reality was that many poor children still could not go to school because the parents could not afford to send them. Rugby gave bursaries to ensure that they took the children on board. She was interested in how SAFA ensured investment in education.

Mr Nematandani responded that SAFA had a School of Excellence, through which SAFA recruiting children from around the country, and had them mentored by world-class coaches. There were about 120 children at the School of Excellency, which concentrated on both education and football, and clearly most of the clubs then picked those children up because of their talent. It was not a bursary scheme per se, but did give opportunities to talented children at the School of Excellency. SAFA also sponsored a number of girls at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, not only for their education and football, but they also received a small stipend. Once they were in those academies, if they had the ability, the issue of bursaries was covered. The University of the North West was planning a Football Academy, combining football and education. He noted that it was interesting to note that the 1995 the winning rugby World Cup team probably included at over ten graduates, whereas the 1996 Bafana Bafana team for the African Cup of Nations probably had no graduates. Education was a key issue. Competition required strong mental capacity was needed, hence the need to combine education and sport. The competitive span of a football player was very sport and there would not be investing in the nation if there was not also education of these players.

Mr Faber commented that the artificial turf grounds were really beautiful but enquired about their cost.

Mr Nematandani said that the cost of the facility varied for every pitch, but was approximately R6.3 million per school, including the clubhouse.

Mr Faber asked who maintained and took care of the facilities, and wondered what would happen if there were vandalism took place, how the turf would it be repaired and what would be the cost implications.

Mr Fredericks said the maintenance was part of the contract. The successful contractor must maintain the facility for one year and train people in that area. A course would be held throughout the country next month where FIFA experts would conduct the course for people who would manage the facilities.

Mr Faber asked what was the life expectancy of such a pitch.

Mr Fredericks said durability was a minimum of fifteen years, with the carpet lasting about eight to ten years. It was proposed to SAFA that a facilities fund be established to replace the carpet and help to pay for the management of the facility. Experience in the past showed that if this delegated to local authorities, the grounds could fall into disrepair and it was easier to manage this from a central fund.

Mr Faber asked who would be allowed to play on those turfs, and if this was limited to professionals, or also included semi professionals and children.

Mr Fredericks responded that a Facilities Management Committee at each facility must determine who, when and how people played. That was for the community to decide. Playing would not damage the pitch, and maintenance was easy. However, obviously there had to be some control.

Ms Mncube said the artificial turf at the stadium in her constituency was beautiful, but she wondered if the laying of this turf really gave more access to the intended beneficiaries. She required more information on the benefits to the community, and how they could access them. Gates were locked after school hours and School Governing Bodies were the custodian of the facilities at the schools. She asked how, over and above benefiting learners at the school, the community could benefit, without strings attached. In one school that she knew of the community were told that if they wanted to use the facilities, they would have to pay overtime to the caretaker, thus limiting the use of the facilities, and leading to community dissatisfaction, with the potential for vandalism.

Mr Nematandani responded in regard to the Nike Centre and accessibility. Nike had developed the Nike Centre, as part of the corporate social investment under Soweto Local Soccer Association, one of SAFA’s affiliates under Johannesburg District Football Association. There could be challenges of accessibility, but there were procedures covering how people could access the centre. If the centre were left open it could be abused, but the idea was tournaments or community meetings would be held there. People had to learn to make application to use the facilities, and a committee should be established for control purposes.

Ms Mncube queried the development fund. There was outcry as to whether the LOC received bonuses or whether that money should rather be used for development. She understood from the media that the funds would be invested.

Mr Nematandani clarified that the LOC had been structured so that it was up to the LOC Board Members whether they could request bonuses. The LOC was subject to company law, included ministers on the board and issues of ethics would be involved. It was hoped that sanity would prevail. He confirmed that the money had been invested wisely in the interests of the development of football. SAFA said that never again should football be in the stage it was before. SAFA was considering establishing a trust, with trustees of high integrity, to manage the fund in the interests of football.

Mr Nematandani noted that perhaps SAFA and the LOC, from the lessons learnt, could say what challenges were being faced in football in South Africa. Ghana focused on strikers or defenders, and perhaps South Africa needed to assess the challenges of the clubs in SAFA, so that the development fund focused on that aspect.

Mr de Villiers asked the DAC for a brief summary on the budget for each programme.

Ms Mazibuko gave some context as to how the legacy would be rolled out in the Department. The 2010 Unit was not a permanent unit of the Department; so all legacy work would be given back to the unit within which it resided. The My School Adventure resided in the Arts, Culture and Society Directorate. A recommendation was also made to the Heraldry Department and the DAC would appreciate another opportunity to come back with a more detailed presentation and budget, because she would have to get that information from those units. She asked to defer response on the budget and on the flag on every school to the next meeting, where she would give more substance to this aspect.

Mr de Villiers was concerned about the security of the turfs. He asked if the different municipalities or sports clubs were included in supplying security to ensure that there was no vandalism.

Mr Fredericks agreed that municipal facilities tended to be vandalised alarmingly. A room was built into the clubhouse which could be a security room. The plan was to approach local security or the police or the community police forum to have an office there. It was an expensive facility and had to be looked after, but Mr Fredericks believed that it was most important that the community took ownership and saw the benefits, which was what SAFA hoped to establish. If there was value for the community, it would look after the facility.

Mr de Villiers said many young learners at school had good football talent and should be picked up, especially after matric, and there should be an opportunity for them to make use of bursaries to study further, especially in sport, as trainers or anything else concerning sport. He asked what was being done to give opportunities to the youth, particularly in rural areas where it was difficult to access bursaries.

Mr Nematandani responded that SAFA had a Technical Director who was responsible for development of football and he was taken through the FIFA process. Programmes were currently running, and the team was in Bloemfontein. It was a very exciting programme that focused on ages between six and twelve. Challenges existed for teams and had to be dealt with, including the challenge of exposing girls to football. ABSA and Sasol were sponsoring football.

Mr de Villiers was aware there was not much maintenance on the turf, but said there would be a need for maintenance on the buildings, and asked what role the municipality would play where the turf was laid on municipality property.

Mr Plaatjie noted the national media perception that most of the world-class stadia would become white elephants, such as Nelson Mandela Bay, because they would be too costly for the local teams. He asked SAFA to confirm or dispute that perception.

Mr Plaatjie welcomed the Youth Zone Initiative as a good programme, and asked if it was geared to South Africa or the Continent, and how it would be run.

Mr Fredericks said the same programme was in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia. It was dependant on funding. The Dutch funded these, and if more funds became available the programme would be taken to the rest of Africa. SAFA was not driving it but brought all the role players together.

Mr Plaatjie asked how youth agencies such as the National Youth Development Agency were involved in the entire legacy programme.

Mr Fredericks responded that there was a need to get them involved and thanked Mr Plaatjie for this comment.

Mr Nematandani added that the Umsobomvu Youth Team was involved in the World Cup, and had provided volunteers whose services were used a great deal.

Mr Plaatjie said he had read in the media that there was mismanagement of funds in the organisation, and that R65 million from the World Cup tournament was missing. He asked that SAFA respond to that.

Mr Nematandani responded that this was incorrect. As President of SAFA, he was very proud that the money was spent in the interests of its members, being ordinary people who had spent all their lives using their own family budget to pay and ensure that they ran clubs helping children to play football. They had been able to share in the World Cup. Football ran on the ground in the small villages. SAFA was proud to have spent money in buying tickets for poor people to see those games and thought it was money well spent.

Mr Plaatjie said that the media had reported on somebody being paid not to appear, and asked if this was true, as it seemed to be wasteful expenditure.

Mr Nematandani responded that this person was not performing, but had to be paid certain sums under a contract, and more artists had complained. In terms of the agreement, more local artists were added, and they had also demanded to take the whole stage. Mr Nematandani sat in those meetings. He commented that some of the local artists were disappointing.

Ms Boroto noted that the development was fine in theory; the practical part must be seen when South Africans performed on the ground, and she hoped that in the next World Cup South Africa would not be eliminated in the first round. She thought that even after learners had been to the School of Excellence, there was a tendency for clubs not to see the promotion of South Africa’s own brand, as the people from outside South Africa scored. She asked whether SAFA had control over how many players the clubs could get, commenting that all the effort being put into developing these young people would not see fruit because the money-driven clubs were not looking at what they were doing for our country. She asked if SAFA was able to assist in ensuring that the talents of this country were taken into consideration, and in minimising the number of foreign players in our clubs.

Mr Nematandani responded that SAFA was trying to be very practical and the question must also be asked  what parents were doing, if they were adding a ball for their child, be it girl or boy, to the shopping list. The support must start at home.

Ms Mncube wanted to know what the major challenges were that led to South Africa failing in football. Different players were available from different clubs. South Africa had not passed the first round of any World Cup since 1994. She enquired whether the fact that 90% of SAFA football clubs had foreign coaches was the problem. She said that some of the most talented children may not be nurtured because they were not academically suitable, and dropped out of school, yet had skills. If twelve schools of excellence were to be established, what was the focus. She asked if South Africa had sufficient players in all positions and referees.

Mr Nematandani responded that there were some issues around foreign players and FIFA rules also played their part. England posed one of the best premier leagues, yet their national team was a disaster, because, in trying to get the best everywhere the whole line up could end up by being foreigners. Coaches were mostly foreign, and the focus was to deliver in the interests of salary and protecting themselves, rather than promoting the nation. That was a challenge. SAFA had given the Premier Soccer League a licence to trade and said they needed to deal with issues.

He agreed that there were many other challenges. There was a need to have a certain number of under 23 players in every team so as to have the youth included. SAFA was trying to have a development league for those that were attached to Premier League, as a reserve league, but that was not coming to fruit because there had been complaints about drugs. Third Division was also a major question. When players returned from tours they went down to lower leagues, with the owners again not thinking of the development of the country. 

Mr Fredericks added that when national teams did not perform, people tended to blame the coaches. The problem was that they had to develop national players, and it was often too late. It took ten years to develop a top athlete in any sport. That was the missing element in football. School sport had collapsed and so many youngsters escaped the net. SAFA was putting its proposal to the Minister to try to establish a net. The best children came from a particular school or schools where they were getting developed, and it was at that level that the development must occur and where the good coaches must be based.

Mr de Villiers asked where the 15 000 volunteers were now.

Mr Nematandani said Mr Fredericks would answer that, but SAFA knew where they were and could always get hold of them.

Mr de Villiers asked about Banyana Banyana. He was aware that not many women were interested in playing soccer, but asked how SAFA planned to get over that stumbling block so that women, especially at school, would be more interested in playing soccer.

Mr Nematandani said ABSA and Sasol funded two leagues. There was a challenge in the South African School Sport Association, although SAFA had pleaded for inclusion of a female tournament whenever a male tournament was running.

Mr de Villiers asked about the One Goal Campaign. The information about the funds raised was still unavailable and he asked whether that information could be presented at the next meeting, since the Committee Members would need to explain it to their constituencies.

Mr Fredericks clarified that the One Goal Campaign was an international campaign, being run under the auspices of the global campaign for education. It was about raising funds for the future running of the campaign and was also concerned with putting pressure on governments for community structures to make sure that children at school going age were at school. South Africa was just supporting the programme.

Mr de Villiers said that in relation to sport in South Africa, in the 1970’s or so there were very good strikers in South Africa, who came from different schools. However, at that time, soccer in schools was popular. He asked about the relationship between SAFA and the Department of Education on school sport.

Mr de Villiers also noted SAFA had already built facilities in six provinces and wanted to build the remaining 21 in nine provinces. He asked for the demarcation of the SAFA regions.

Mr Mashamaite said he was from the Waterberg region and asked whether that was included in the SAFA regions.

Mr Nematandani responded that SAFA operated similar to government. Limpopo had five regions, and Ellisdale had five regions, and there were challenges in that sometimes people did not come on board to assist SAFA structures.

Mr Mashamaite asked for SAFA’s management plan for the stadia after 2010, to ensure that they were maintained and did not become white elephants.

Mr Nematandani responded that Stadium Managers were employed to look after those stadia, and to ensure that they were profitable and well maintained. Sometimes they had needed to raise the hiring charges, which gave rise to complaints that the stadia were now inaccessible, but that would hopefully be addressed.

Mr Plaatjie said most of the questions focused on how to get the schools to participate in SAFA’s programme, and SAFA’s mandate went hand in hand with the Departments of Sport and Recreation and Arts and Culture. He asked what the relationships with those departments were, to develop the youth.

Mr Nematandani responded that SAFA did have a relationship with the Minister of Sport, and had also emphasised the need for both the Ministers of Sport and of Education to come together to reinstate physical education in schools. Teachers and sports masters must be excited about being involved in sport. Volunteers were needed in all rural areas where sport needed to be developed, but teachers at schools were the best protagonists.

Mr Fredericks added that the President of SAFA met with the Department of Basic Education already and was about to meet with the Department of Sport and Recreation. The programme would not succeed without both departments, who were critical partners.

Mr Plaatjie again alluded to the ceremonies and said that many artists were not happy about being excluded and asked how that had been sorted out.

Mr Nematandani reiterated that some more local artists had been added, but had demanded to take the whole stage. However, this was not a local concept, and it was being run from outside.

The Chairperson asked about the University of the North West initiatives, noting that there was one university in Potchefstroom and one in Mafokeng. She said that black people at Mafokeng focused on soccer as a sport and appeared to be unaware that those in Potechefstroom were also playing it, and she thought that more soccer should be encouraged at Potchefstroom.

The Chairperson said that “One Goal” was one goal for Africa. She asked how South African education would benefit.

The Chairperson said that South African referees were “a disaster”. Those with skills were still living in shacks. She asked how SAFA was dealing with this.

Mr Nematandani explained that volunteers normally ran football. Most of those in the public eye were not actually employed by SAFA or other football structures. Referees at least received a small stipend, but the rest were just volunteers. Sport needed volunteers, and it must be appreciated that volunteering also was social interaction. SAFA was competing with the corporate world to get funding to develop children, and currently had to run football in South Africa with very little resources. Government should see that it was very important to invest a lot of money in sport development, because sport could address a number of our community ills. The World Cup had shown the way to go. There was a need to turn the country around. Sport could keep children from jail, could ensure the health budget was reduced, and children would attend school, become disciplined through discipline in sport, and the country would have good leaders going into the future. School sport had fallen back many years because coaches had only been available to those who could afford to hire them.

The Chairperson referred to the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) , and asked what relationship had been developed with Local Government to engage on allocations, as sport never seemed to be addressed. She asked if SAFA could assist in filling that gap.

Mr Fredericks responded that sport featured little in the MIG. SAFA was trying to help the local authorities in prioritising this, and also was assisting the local football associations to apply to the Lotto for funding and to expand on their programmes.

The Chairperson said the Committee looked forward to further engagement. Not only the rural areas needed to be addressed, but also issues such as farm areas migration, the informal settlements, and how to accommodate those people and tap talent from their disadvantaged children.

The meeting was adjourned.