LIARS AND BUYERS: South African football slides in to chaos... even if Lesufi can find R55m by Friday

FOOTBALL'S MUGABE: Dr Irvin Khoza

WEEKS ago I said the PSL were getting in to awkward territory when they agreed to John Comitis buying Mpumalanga Black Aces while Panyaza Lesufi was publicly expressing his desire to buy a place for Moroka Swallows back in the top flight.

For the third time in a year, I produced FIFA and NSL documents showing that the “buying of promotion” was illegal in modern football, that it had been out-lawed since 2007.

But nobody listened. Comitis was allowed to demolish Aces, taking 14 of their players 1000 miles south to his new-fangled Cape Town City, while swapping coaches with Orlando Pirates.

Turk Muhsin Etrugral was grabbed by Khoza amid surprising levels of optimism from Bucca fans, Eric Tinkler was dispatched to Cape Town where, as far as I can tell, another eight players are still needed to complete a workable squad for the “boys in blue”, who plan to play their games on Friday nights in the Mother City.

All this in a tourist mecca that barely produces enough paying fans for one club, let alone a second one apparently constructed purely to under-mine Ajax Cape Town.

That was bad enough. What has happened with Free State Stars and Moroka Swallows’ powerful ANC MEC for Education Lesufi is sending South African football headlong in to chaos.

Eight days ago, after much huffing and puffing, Lesufi went on Metro FM with Robert Marawa and, though he would not say which club he had bought, the mighty Marawa assured us: “This deal is done.”

With Lesufi proclaiming The Birds were now owned by a “consortium of supporters”, we looked forward to “final authorisation” from the PSL last week with R55m promised to ease the pain of Free State Stars, who would duly buy an NFD franchise and play their way back to the top flight.

It was at that point, Orlando Pirates got involved. An agent was dispatched to Bethlehem even as Lesufi made his brave proclamations. Within 24 hours, Justice Chabalala, wanted by Kaizer Chiefs, Sello Japhta and the talented Ayanda Nkosi had all decamped for the Sea Robbers.

And Bradley Carnell, the former Bundesliga star who helped Stars sign up new French coach Denis Lavagne, suddenly found himself at a “big club” for the first time. We chatted about it, I’ve always rated Carnell... but the whole saga surprised us both.

A week later and, apart from a rabble-rousing meeting with Swallows fans on Sunday, nothing happened. No official announcement from the PSL. No word from Stars to their bemused fans, though they played in a local tournament over the weekend under Lavagne but without the trio who had left for Pirates.

And then Irvin Khoza, chairman of both Pirates and the PSL for over 20 years, called an emergency conference at the PSL to tell us NO DEAL, the money hadn’t been deposited, Lesufi has until Friday to come up with the cash or Free State Stars would be resurrected like a footballing Lazarus.

As a rambling, almost incoherent Khoza told us: "We hope that Ntate Lesufi is listening together with the people of the trust he's involved in.

"I want to appeal to MEC Lesufi that together with whoever he's involved with in the consortium to finalise this ASAP.

"If we we don't have clarity by the end of the week there will be no transaction, change of club or anything like that. There will be nothing for us to consider. Our position as the League, right now, is that we await a full report from the parties."

Khoza, who stands astride our football like a gold-toothed Robert Mugabe, rambled: "I spoke to Mr Lesufi and he apologised. I hope they will conclude it this week. Because we can't wait too long.

"We are dissappointed because they let the cat out of the bag prematurely. As it stands, no application has been made.

"If the intention of this trust is to buy the club and seek a name change, that is a matter to be dealt with when the time comes (Khoza claims the name Moroka Swallows had NEVER been mentioned).

Khoza went on to make similar contradictory, never-ending comments on Metro FM a couple of hours later, waxing lyrical about footballing traditions, and the pain caused to Free State Stars “players, officials and family”.

But of course, he was being economical with the truth. A deal HAD been done, and Khoza himself was part of that deal, as he immediately grabbed as many Stars staff as he could for free.

The only hitch? Lesufi failed to deposit the R55m, money that, for some reason, is linked to an agent called Francesco Ferreri, an Italian South African who has featured before without distinction as an agent involved at Moroka Swallows and named by sources in Zimbabwe during their recent match-fixing scandal.

I’d like to say such chaos is normal in the running of a football league, but it’s not. This goes way beyond Greek and Turkish footballing mayhem and in to the dark reaches of corruption and fraud.

Khoza knew about the Lesufi deal - the proof is in the pudding with Nkosi, Japhta, Chabalala and Carnell - and to say Panyaza’s “brand” will be ruined by non-payment is pure hypocrisy.

Lesufi has only himself to blame for the mess he now finds himself in. But if the money is paid by Friday, the YESMEN culture in our game will rescue his reputation and, as Marawa said over a week ago, Panyaza will return to being a candidate for South African President for his manic bid to rescue Moroka Swallows who, whatever happens, are scheduled to play in the third division ABC Motsepe League next season.

Khoza sits with the spoils of the deal in the Pirates training camp in Potchefstroom. Lesufi is scrabbling around for R55m (Khoza said it was “more than Comitis paid for Aces”) and Free State Stars don’t know if they’re in the PSL, the NFD or the grave yard.

These are the facts. The questions that move us beyond this chaos are these:

Will Pirates return the three Stars and their new assistant coach Carnell to Free State Stars if the deal falls through?

Can Free State Stars continue to function given the club's silence during this sordid affair? Will their tiny band of fans simply give up?

Can Khoza, 68, continue to run the PSL where he has presided for over 20 years given his bizarre outbursts which appeared to amount to threats against ANC MEC Lesufi?

Just a political thought: can Lesufi himself escape unscathed as a prominent politician given his part in all this?

And all this of course, flying in the face of FIFA’s directives. You can’t buy promotion, politicians can’t be involved in football, players cannot be discarded or sent to another club unless they are consulted.

In proper footballing nations, teams are deducted 10 points if they go bankrupt. They are demoted, like Scottish champions Rangers, to the LAST available division.

It’s a mess. A terrible mess. Even if Lesufi gets his money by Friday and Khoza goes silent, we face a PSL season like none other. FOUR new clubs, 10 teams out of 16 who look very different to last season. And barely a transfer fee in sight. Millions paid to change clubs, not a penny spent on academies or development.

Though the PSL won’t confirm it, our national premier division suffered their lowest EVER attendances last season, dipping under 6,000. Will Cape Town City, Moroka FC, Highlands Park and Baroka stop that decline? I seriously doubt it.

We are caught up in something called the Carling Champions Cup which involves the fifth and seventh best teams in the country. Two of our Olympic squad are going to be late for Rio because of it.

And PSL sponsors ABSA? Do they get told what happens to their millions?

One final point: Is SAFA, the umbrella under which all this happens, even aware? Has Danny Jordaan, like Lesufi a prominent ANC politician, shown ANY interest?


Here's what I wrote when AmaZulu football, my favourite team, were trying to buy a place back in the PSL a year ago: http://neal-collins.blogspot.co.za/2015/06/relegated-amazulu-cough-up-r82m-to.html

THE KAIZER CHIEFS DECLINE: 5 games, 512 minutes without a goal. February 20 since they last won. Tuesday night is a MUST WIN

The man in charge: Bobby Motaung

WHILE the world staggers to accept the fact Lionel Messi has failed to score in 362 minutes  and four matches for the first time since the middle of 2011, I have news of another goal drought which cannot be ignored. Another slump hard to shrug off, like mighty Barcelona not winning a La Liga game in four.

Let me set it out in numbers: Kaizer Chiefs have not scored in six games. They have played 512 minutes of football without a goal. The AmaKhosi have not WON A GAME since February 20, 52 days ago.

Perhaps, as the reigning champions end a season which started with a massacre, then hope… and finally failure, there will be a late turnaround. On Tuesday night, after three weeks off, they play Mpumalanga Black Aces in a bid to end a sequence which few have witnessed as gold-and-black fans.

Here, without further ado, March backwards with Kaizer Chiefs:

0-0 March 20: Asec Mimosas (a)

0-1 March 15: 0-1 Jomo Cosmos (h)

0-1 March 12: 0-1 Asec Mimosas (h)

0-2 March 9: Platinum Stars (a)

0-2 March 5: Orlando Pirates (a)

So, five matches with no goals. In a single month, Kaizer Chiefs plunged out of the Nedbank Cup against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates, failed dismally in the African Champions League against Ghana's out-of-form Asec Mimosas and defeats against Cosmos and Dikwena ended their PSL title hopes.

It gets worse. The sixth game in the pitiful sequence was the infamous walk-over against Volcan di Moroni from the Comoros. We have never had a clear explanation of what happened over the final weekend in February when the opposition were reportedly seen in Johannesburg but never found their way to Durban.

Did Kaizer Chiefs neglect to tell the islanders they weren’t playing at their usual home ground, the FNB Stadium? Did the Volcanos turn up in Jozi and decide they’re rather enjoy the bright lights than go to the seaside in Durban? We may never know.

But I digress. SIX games no goals. The last goal the AmaKhosi scored was in the 1-1 draw against Polokwane City, the night giant Zimbabwean goalkeeper George Chigovu, since charged with match-fixing, won the Man of the Match award by some distance

Yes, it was February 23 when Kaizer Chiefs last scored a goal of any kind. It came from the head of Mulomowandau Eric “Tower” Mathoho from a Siphiwe Tshabalala corner in the 37th minute. It was a goal which levelled the game which finished 1-1, ending a run of four straight wins for Chiefs.

END OF THE ROAD: Bobby Motaung would not let
Baxter sign players at Kaizer Chiefs

Much has been made of the penalties awarded to Chiefs during the successful Christmas period (and those not awarded against them), some have even linked the slump to the suspension of various match official by the South African football association on March 4.

Certainly Kulasande Qongqo, who awarded Chiefs to spurious penalties in the Telkom KO final defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns on December 16, and Johannes Moshidi, the linesman during the controversial win over Bidvest Wits in Cape Town on 19 December, were among the victims. Both were banned for six months.

My rudimentary calculations thus suggest Kaizer Chiefs have not scored in 512 minutes of football. They have not won in six games, they are falling fast, as I said they would when they got rid of coach Stuart Baxter, PSL player of the season Tefu Mashamaite and top-scorer Mandla Masango within weeks of becoming record-breaking 69-point champions last season.

In the long break since their last game on March 20, chairman Kaizer Motaung has emerged to say: "Our supporters are spoilt and when you lose one or two games, you are not good enough.”

But of course, this is not “one or two games” it’s a losing sequence going back to February 20 when they defeated SuperSport United 2-1 in Cape Town.

Motaung insists: "There is no pressing the panic button. If you do that it shows you don't know what you are doing. There is no regret about hiring Steve Komphela.

“We can start judging him from next season because he would have had enough time to tweak the team the way he wants it. Obviously we have to replenish the side. We have to bring in new players next season.

"It won't be a wholesale change like we did before Stuart Baxter. But I think we are going to tweak the squad and make sure we get it right.”

Kaizer appears to forget the signing of Siyanda Xulu, Bongani Ndulula, Camaldine Abraw, Daniel Cardoso and Keegan Ritchie after Baxter left. And the re-signing of Itumeleng Khune when all seemed lost. And the later arrival of Ugandan Sula Matovu. Read through those names, all signed by Bobby Motaung. How much impact have they had?

On Tuesday,  as they travel to play the side two points behind them, Mpumalanga Black Aces, it might be worth considering how last season's "tweak" went. Yes, Aces, the side who nearly sold their PSL franchise to AmaZulu at the start of the season.

The point is this: No goals in 512 minutes, no wins for 52 days from South Africa’s record-breaking champions. I’d say the millions of glory-hungry AmaKhosi fans have been quite patient. Not with chairman Kaizer but with his son Bobby, who actually runs the club.

Anything less than a rousing win on Tuesday night would be simply unacceptable.

SIMPLY NDORABLE: How Tendai finally grabbed his chance with a Soweto Derby double

THE THREE-HOUR HAIRCUT: Tendai
Ndoro shows off the style... and the Man
of the match Nedbank Green Jacket

TENDAI NDORO. Talk of the town. Two goals to win Saturday's Soweto Derby. Did it come as a surprise? Hope not, I've been talking about him for months.

Right at the start of the season, when the 27-year-old Zimbabwean striker appeared in Orlando Pirates gear for the first time, you could see the exuberance in the man from Harare, his natural knack of challenging defenders, finding the target.

It wasn’t surprising. Ndoro scored seven for Mpumalanga’s Black Aces in his first six months in 2014, I remember one night wishing out loud on Twitter that he would somehow stumble across a South African passport and help solve the Bafana Bafana striker crisis.

When Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates showed interest, Tendai - full name Takudzwa - might have been bewildered by his agent claiming English Premier League club Crystal Palace were interested. But he really did look that good.

A deal with Pirates finally emerged at the start of the season - Aces claimed he had another year to run on his contract but he found himself training with the Buccaneers by the time the season got underway.

Yet Ndoro found himself low down in the pecking order under Eric Tinkler. For months he watched as Kermit Erasmus, Thami Gabuza and Lehlohonolo Majoro took their places up front with varying levels of mediocrity.

At the time, with Pirates struggling in the lower half of the PSL, Ndoro said: “Talking about leaving Pirates in search of game time is something that is not in my vocabulary.” But you knew, in your heart, it wasn’t right.

I mentioned Ndoro’s life in limbo several times on Twitter. Nobody said much. But when Erasmus, claiming he was off to see the in-laws in Holland, signed for Rennes in France, Ndoro finally found himself taking a quick-step up the ladder.

Tinkler had little choice but to pick him as Gabuza self-destructed in front of goal and suddenly the cushion was discarded for the scoring boots. The games - and the goals - began to flow.

In the build-up to the Nedbank Cup Soweto Derby clash on Saturday, many were debating who should start up front. I said Ndoro was the obvious choice, though many felt Gabuza and Majoro were more likely.

Then God - the beardy guy who sometimes still brings out the old leather football boots - took a hand. Majoro did his hamstring in training and Ndoro secured his place.

He had a half-chance early on, then Kaizer Chiefs took over and hope began to fade. For 77 minutes, we suffered out way through the usual Soweto Derby boredom with an unusually sparse crowd.

Until the 77th minute. Mpho Makola put through a lovely ball which split the AmaKhosi’s makeshift defence. Good ball, but bouncing awkwardly. Ndoro brought it down in an instant, and to general hysteria, lashed the first goal past Reyaad Pieterse.

Five minutes later, he was at it again, banging in a laid-off free-kick low past Pieterse, bouncing in to the far corner. GAME OVER, though Ndoro produced a final curling shot just beyond the angle as he chased the fabled Soweto Derby hat-trick.

Afterwards, crowned Man of the Match with a hair-style he admits takes three hours to compose, Ndoro oozed: “That was my first Soweto Derby and I got two goals. That’s something you have to admire! I want to continue doing that, and not just in the derbies.

“Second half we wanted that one goal and we got it. That goal boosted us and helped us to get another one. I was pleased with it. Control, shoot, score.”

Tinkler explained Ndoro’s long-term exclusion by saying: “Tendai’s work-rate needed to increase. We’re a team in which everybody needs to work, and we can see he is doing that now.”

Then: “The way he expresses himself is important. We know Tendai has great ability in front of goal, when he gets the opportunity he must shoot because we know that nine out of 10 times he will hit the back of the net.”

Which rather begs the question: why didn’t we see more of him earlier in the season?