TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi has discussed the financial challenges endured by clubs in the Hollywoodbets Super League, saying there needs to be a special focus in order to save the women’s game in the country.
Galaxy is one of four Betway Premiership clubs that has a club in the highest women’s league in the country, TS Galaxy Queens, who are in a bit of a better financial situation even though they still find the going tough.
Community-based clubs are in a worse situation as most are unable to pay players and staff salaries and struggle to honour fixtures. These are some of the reasons most of them struggle to compete and eventually get relegated.
Sukazi is quoted in the feature highlighting the crisis in edition 178 of iDiski Times by writer Lethabo Kganyago. The club boss revealed that the money required to run a super league club is far more than the monthly grant the club receives which begs for more cash injection in women’s football from potential sponsors.
“You cannot expect clubs to survive and manage to go to matches plus pay players’ salaries and many other things that are needed in preparation for matches with R90,000 a month,” Sukazi told iDiski Times.
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“And who can you blame, probably no one. Obviously, we don’t know exactly how much SAFA gets from Hollywoodbets but we imagine that whatever they’re providing is in accordance with their levels of affordability. And if that’s the case, it’s a sad scenario.
“That’s why you need businesses to show confidence in women’s football because otherwise, we are going to kill it ourselves as a country, and that’s the biggest challenge. To run a Super League club you spend R500,000 a month but you get R90,000. So it’s a huge problem but then what can we do because we are for the cause.”
Sukazi has never been shy to encourage other topflight clubs to have women’s sides as this will not only elevate the game but also help with the financial problems. However he knows that it is still a cost issue for clubs that also have their own challenges as far as money is concerned.
“To be honest I think it’s about the ability of the club” added the Rockets principal.
“It is a cost factor. Clubs in all honesty, they also have their own challenges, of course. So, you can imagine if they overload with a women’s team. So, you know, it becomes a cost factor at all levels.
“Yes, I’ve called upon them but it’s not an easy thing to do in all honesty. Those who wish, they must be prepared”.
