In an exclusive article in iDiski Times Edition 1, Velile Mnyandu revealed that Premier Soccer league chairman Irvin Khoza is expected to stand for re-election at the National Soccer League’s (NSL) quadrennial congress today.
Khoza, who has been occupying the Chairmanship position for 18 years now, is believed to be going for his fifth and final term leading one of the best professional football leagues on the continent.
Under his stewardship, the PSL has been transformed into arguably the best league commercially on the continent, having just last year declared a billion-rand revenue.
It was in 2007 when Khoza and his PSL Executive Committee (Exco) entered into a game-changing TV rights deal with MultiChoice International, a move which saw the league introduce monthly grants which currently stand at over R2-million a month for Premier Division clubs and at R500 000 a month for GladAfrica Championship clubs.
iDiski Times understands that the Orlando Pirates chairman will be standing unopposed for the top post, as it has been the case in the past elective congresses.
There had also been unconfirmed speculation that one of the founding and longest-serving members of the PSL Exco, and one of the best football administrators this country has ever produced, Kaizer Motaung was not going to avail himself for the next term. The Kaizer Chiefs supremo will be 80 years-old when the next term finishes, but it’s understood that he has since been nominated again for what is also believed to be his last term.
The six other current Exco members are Mato Madlala (Lamontville Golden Arrows), Stan Matthews (SuperSport United), David Thidiela (Black Leopards), Khumbulani Konco (Bloemfontein Celtic), Jose Ferreira (ex-Bidvest Wits CEO) and Rejoice Simelane (Mamelodi Sundowns).
Nominations are done by the member clubs (both Premier and First Division) and they are expected to send them to the league’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 14 days before the elective congress.
The speculation overdrive is that Cape Town City chairman John Comitis is looking at making a return to the PSL Exco, having served there before he left Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs).
iDiski Times has also picked up from impeccable sources that certain members of the current Exco might not return after this term.
To be eligible to stand for elections or to be nominated, a candidate must currently be attached to a member club, which is not the case with Ferreira after he left Bidvest Wits and the club was also sold to Tshakuma Tsha Madzivhandila.
With new club owners in the mix like Tim Sukazi (TS Galaxy), Sandile Zungu (AmaZulu) and experienced young leaders in the game like Rantsi Mokoena (Free State Stars), it remains to be seen how the future leadership of PSL pans out, come the next elective congress.
In a statement from the PSL on Wednesday, they noted: “The Quadrennial General Meeting of the National Soccer League (NSL) will be held on Wednesday, 11 November 2020 in Johannesburg.
“Following the QGM, the newly elected executive committee will host a press conference.
“The press conference will be LIVE on the SuperSport PSL Channel (202) and SuperSport Blitz (Time- TBC).
