New SAFA broadcast deal could alienate soccer fans 

04 August 2014

The President of SAFA, Dr Danny Jordaan, must urgently clarify whether Bafana Bafana's games will be broadcast on SABC.

There were extremely worrying reports this weekend that the TV rights to all Bafana Bafana games were sold to a new pay TV provider, Siyaya TV (see Sunday World report).

As the available details of this new deal stand, millions of soccer fans who can't afford tickets to watch Bafana Bafana may no longer be able to watch these matches in the comfort of their homes either.

At this stage, it is not certain whether SAFA will make provision for these matches to be sub-licensed to the national broadcaster to allow millions of football fans to enjoy the games. 

The SABC is obviously the most accessible form of TV for South Africans, and therefore it is non-negotiable that Bafana's games are showed lived on SABC TV. 

Dr Jordaan must answer for SAFA's decision to sell the TV rights to a little-known new entrant. Who will be able to watch the games live? Will South Africans who do not have Siyaya TV be excluded as a result of this transaction? 

This also raises serious questions as to whether an untested and newly-established channel will have the capacity needed to provide quality live broadcast of all matches.

I will be submitting parliamentary questions to establish whether the new deal makes provision for sub licensing of the broadcasting rights to the public broadcaster, along the lines of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and SuperSport broadcast deal for PSL matches, which enable football supporters to view matches.

In addition to this, we will press SAFA for transparency on this deal when they appear before the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation in two weeks.

The DA is committed to ensuring dedicated and accessible sports broadcasting for all citizens and will make sure that every South African has access to these services.

Statement issued by Solly Malatsi MP, DA Shadow Minister of Sport and Recreation, August 4 2014

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