 The Godfather: |
Slowly SA's awaken to the FIFA Godfather from Soddom and Gomorrah, who offers -- like any good Nigerian 419 scammer, or multi-level marketer -- his naive greedy little psychologically insecure victims all they dream of, their crackpipe of fake prestige and imaginary profits.... [Few, if any check to see whether the alleged 'profits' will cover the humungous expenses]. I don't envy them their crackpipe hangover subsequent to 12 July 2010....The government has in its agreement with the FIFA signed away SA' businesses existing legal contractual rights, in exchange for a short term profit.
FIFA’s hospitality agency Match doesn’t need nearly as many rooms for the World Cup 2010 football tournament in South Africa as they had anticipated, dropping more than 450,000 bednights from its original 1,7million hotelbed block-bookings.
The South African Media Interest Group, made up of members of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and industry body Print Media SA, has raised its concerns through the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) — a body representing news associations and agencies worldwide — about the terms and conditions imposed by World Cup owner Fifa for coverage of this year’s event. They believe these restrict media freedom.
Fifa takes pole pitch in advertising wheel
Antoinette Slabbert, Sake 24
2009/12/19 11:43:00 PM
 It is herewith concluded that an analysis of the deletion by Facebook of the Boycott 2010 World Cup Campaign page, and other related pages and groups, amounts to Facebook Endorsiong not only Black Apartheid; but the deliberate and intentional Extermination of White's in SA ... |
The government has in its agreement with the FIFA signed away SA' businesses existing legal contractual rights, in exchange for a short term profit.
This could mean the existential end of especially smaller outdoor advertising companies, said Mr. Les Holley, executive director of Out of Home Media South Africa (OHMSA), an organizing body for outdoor advertising.
Holly commented on whether the advertising restrictions implemented during the World Cup, apply to outdoor advertising.
Municipal regulations in terms of the goverments undertaking with FIFA, have been accepted by most host cities, which requires that outdoor advertising at certain designated locations are required to be covered up, during the World Cup.
These locations which require SA Business advertising to be censored during the World Cup, include:
- Classified advertising at airports which face public roads;
- Platforms at Metrorail stations;
- All advertising within 100 meters of Supporters Parks, or in any area where the local muncipality so decides;
- Within 1 km of any practice training ground;
- Within 100 meters from any hotel where any of the teams are residing;
- Next to all “protocol routes” -- all the routes expected to be published next month;
- Any advertising sign which is visible along the main roads to the stadium and within a radius of 1 km from the stadium.
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According to Holly outdoor advertising contracts are generally made for a period of a year or frequently over a period of five years. Accordingly the goverment's agreement with FIFA, now places Ohmsa's members in a situation of breach of contract with their established long term advertisers.
Although Mr. Holley thinks that the tournament does hold great advantages (he does not mention whether that is factually true, or simply disinformation propaganda); Holley states it is unfortunate that existing contractual relationships with advertising customers, which will last for long after the World Cup has left south Africa, are being jeapourdized.
Furthermore says Holley there is no conclusive agreement about who is taking responsibility for the costs of removing advertising, in accordance with the goverments agreement with FIFA, and replacing it subsequent to the departure of the World Cup.
As an example he mentions the giant Vodacom advertisement on the Ponte building in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. This sign is visible from inside Ellis Park Stadium, and must therefore be covered, for FIFA. However this board has been standing there for several years, and is clearly not been setup to challenge FIFA.
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It will cost more than R1 million to cover up and uncover again, subsequent to the World Cup. In addition such a process of covering it up, could be dangerous, by altering the weight and response to winds, which could create a structural hazard.
According to Holley's talks with FIFA on the specific case, it appears as if FIFA is not going to make a stink about the board.
Holley said outdoor advertising companies will lose income during the World Cup, when their local advertising is not visible, but they are still required to pay advertising rentals to the owners of billboards. He beliefs that many companies will not be able to bear such losses, perhaps big ones can, but smaller companies, which often belong to black entrepreneuers and are in financial difficult, it will be their assassination.
In talks with FIFA's lawyers, they say existing outdoor advertising that does not unlawfully attempt to benefit from the tournament, can stay, as long as their sponsors and partners do not want to use the billboards.
Although it is inconsistent with the rules and it is not clear whether municipalities will also take this stance, Holley says Ohmsa will abide by FIFA's interpretation of the rules.
» » » » [Sake 24]
FIFA unbooks 450,000+ bed-nights for WC2010
Cancelled FIFA hotel-block bookings were valued at R635-million
 |
Jan 23 2010 – FIFA’s hospitality agency Match doesn’t need nearly as many rooms for the World Cup 2010 football tournament in South Africa as they had anticipated, dropping more than 450,000 bednights from its original 1,7 million hotelbed block-bookings.
Since December 11 last year, Match has already handed back more than 450,000 bed-nights which had initially been booked in hotels and guest houses in South Africa through the African Space group. It’s now 135 days until the tournaments will start.
Match’s senior accommodation manager Mrs Vivienne Bervoets, confirmed in an interview with journalist Antoinette Slabbert of the Afrikaans financial publication Sake24.com that on December 11, they unbooked 314,000 bed-nights in 6,883 rooms – originally a total of 1,7-million bed-nghts were booked. And a month later, n January 8, Match handed back another 140,000 bed-nights in 3,642 rooms.
Brett Dungan, managing director of Fedhasa, the SA hospitality-industry’s representative body, said it was ‘a pity’ that these rooms were unbooked. “Everyone knew however that this could happen, as can happen with any international conference,’ he was quoted.
The risks were too big…
Kobus van Rensburg, the director of the African Space organisation – which according to Sake24.com had negotiated bookings for nearly 199,000 bednights with Match, was disappointed about these cancellations. “The agreement with Match was signed in 2008, but accredited tour-operators were only told on a seminar on 7 December 2009 - after the final draw for the tournaments -- about this (accommodation) product,’ he said.
On 8 January, Match announced that the ‘risks were too great’ and that they were unbooking these rooms, said Van Rensburg. The estimated value of these block-bookings, including anticipated incomes which would have been earned by the owners and including the commissions paid to Match, would have amounted to about R635-million ($63-million), he told Slabbert.
Van Rensburg added however that the ‘door is open if Match needs the units later, and Match has agreed that African Space can work directly with its accredited tour-operators, als also use the FIFA.com website for its marketing”.
» » » » [Excerpt: Sake 24 (Afrikaans), English Translation by Adriana Stuijdt]
FIFA restrictions outrage media
Media warned to tread warily around Fifa 2010 reporting rules
Chantelle Benjamin, Business Day
Published: 2010/01/19 06:31:31 AM
AN INTERNATIONAL media body representing SA’s interests on Fifa’s media committee yesterday warned media organisations to read accreditation documents for sports events clearly before allowing journalists to sign them, as they could bind the whole institution.
The South African Media Interest Group, made up of members of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and industry body Print Media SA, has raised its concerns through the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) — a body representing news associations and agencies worldwide — about the terms and conditions imposed by World Cup owner Fifa for coverage of this year’s event. They believe these restrict media freedom.
Larry Kilman, WAN’s director of communications and public affairs, said sport organisers were increasingly trying to control content to ensure they received maximum benefit. WAN started dealing with the issue in 2005 after members complained about restrictions around sporting events, and has been negotiating with Fifa over relaxation of some of the terms since 2006.
Similar issues, led largely by news wire services, were raised around restrictions by Cricket Australia and the Indian Premier League.
“Sport organisations want to define newspapers as print only and sell digital platforms separately with different rates so they can benefit from both mediums,” Kilman said.
Many of Fifa’s restrictions consequently relate to new media and digital platforms. Kilman said gone were the days when accreditation for a sports event meant signing a form and getting a media pass.
“Accreditation documents are now legal contracts and editors of newspapers should have them seen by legal counsel before they are signed. It could reflect on the strategic application of the media institute.” He said groups like Sanef were vital to keep debate and negotiations around those restrictions alive.
South African editors are objecting to, among other things: restrictions on video packages for websites — Fifa will allow only single photographs and not the presentation of an in-motion set of frames on websites, to avoid interfering with its video rights; news organisations cannot write anything that brings Fifa into disrepute; newspapers cannot send picture content via cellphones — they may only send text.
Sanef representative Raymond Louw said this meant that a journalist who was not covering the tournament might be prevented from covering an unrelated labour dispute at a hotel where teams were based.
» » » » [Business Day]
Safa's shock cash crisis
Phathisani Moyo, Mail & Guardian
Jan 22 2010 06:33
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The South African Football Association (Safa) has run out of cash, paralysing the administration of the country’s number one sport. A senior official, who refused to be named, told the Mail & Guardian that Safa is nearly R10-million in the red, contradicting former chief executive Raymond Hack’s assurances that he left its books in a healthy state.
Hack is on record as saying that the association is far from broke. He presented a glowing picture of the sport’s finances when he delivered the annual report last September, reporting a R32-million profit.
However, Safa’s bank accounts, which the M&G saw this week, show that the association is heavily overdrawn, with a negative balance of more than R7,4-million.
Other Safa records indicate that the association owes suppliers a further R7-million.
But a senior Safa official said the situation was bleaker than even these figures indicate.
“We are close to R10-million in the red, excluding what we need to pay our suppliers,” he said. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to run the sport smoothly in the country. The majority of our regions have not received their grants, which has paralysed the game in these affected areas.”
Safa awards each of its 52 regions a R250 000 grant, enabling it to meet its administrative costs.
A letter written by the Safa Waterberg region to the association’s head office and leaked to the M&G, paints a gloomy picture of the financial crisis in the regions.
“We were promised that the grant will be paid by December 2009 but we are still waiting today. We are facing eviction from the office due to non-payment of rent,” the letter says.
“The other frustration is that phones have been suspended and our staff members are owed their salaries as well.”
A dejected worker from the Waterberg office told the M&G: “Our phone bill is only R3 500 and our rent R2 280 -- it’s embarrassing that a country that’s hosting the World Cup in a few months can’t pay such bills.
“What makes matters worse is that we have families to feed and there’s no assurance that we’ll get our January salary.”
The Safa vice-president responsible for finance, Mandla Mazibuko, confirmed that Hack had left the association’s account in deficit, but would not specify the figure.
“The issue of the overdraft is true and was left by Hack. He cannot deny this overdraft. Please ask the new Safa CEO [Leslie Sedibe] for the exact figure,” said Mazibuko.
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Sedibe, appointed this month, refused to shed light on the magnitude of the problem he has inherited. “It’s really too early for me to comment because I’m still going through the books,” he said.
On the plight of the regions, Mazibuko said those that were not paid had failed to meet certain set criteria.
“They must submit an audited financial statement, show minutes of their AGM, produce a constitution, bank account and tax invoice before money can be advanced to them,” he said.
The Waterberg employee insisted the region “has everything in order” and was promised payment by the Safa head office in December.
Speaking by telephone from Angola, where he is attending the Africa Cup of Nations, Hack dismissed the allegations that he left the organisation in a financial mess as “absolute nonsense”.
“When I delivered the annual general report in September which showed a profit of about R32-million, there was not a single objection. Why now, when I’ve left office? People mustn’t play games here,” he said.
Hack denied that the Safa account was overdrawn by more than R7-million. He also argued that, even if the association was currently in the red, this did not mean it was broke.
“The SABC alone owes Safa almost R27-million. “Even if we had a worst-case scenario of owing the bank R3-million, which I doubt very much, Safa’s books would still indicate a healthy balance of R24-million.
“I am reliably informed that the SABC will pay Sedibe this week, which should sort out any financial problems.
“What people need to know is that Safa’s cash flow is determined by what comes in from sponsors and specific contracts. It does not constitute a financial crisis if these are not paid up,” said Hack.
In a release on Safa's website in August, former Safa president Molefi Oliphant “congratulated the finance committee on a job well done in ensuring good governance”. He wrote that “the association has stabilised financially because of the vigilance exercised by the finance committee”.
In the same release Premier Soccer League chairperson Irvin Khoza also applauded the finance committee, saying he had given Oliphant a R7-million cheque for Safa’s development programmes “as a sign of confidence in the financial management processes at Safa”.
The M&G’s senior Safa source pointed out that it is pointless to talk about “money that is out there".
“Things on the ground clearly show that Safa has no money. We are busy looking for ways to ensure people get paid this month-end.
“Even workers here in our Safa headquarters might not receive their salaries if we don’t find a solution in the next couple of days,” he said.
Mazibuko insisted Safa could pay its employees.
“I am in a finance committee and I can assure you that workers will be paid. Queries have only been raised at CEO level, whereby Sedibe has asked Hack to clarify a few issues concerning our books.”
» » » » [Mail & Guardian, via I Luv SA]
» » [Pro-SA “Boycott 2010 World Cup” Campaign on Facebook ]
» » [SA's Inconvenient Truth: False Hopes About 2010 World Cup?]
» » [Is FIFA Blackmailing RSA Media?: Blatter & African Mass Murderer's]
» » [Open Letter to FIFA 2010 World Cup Teams: ‘Flying Scotsman’ Anyone?]
» » [How many 2010 WC fans will leave SA burned, conned, fooled & screwed over?]
» » [Politics & Corruption of FIFA: Elect me FIFA Czar for Life & Africa gets 2010 WC]
» » [More Journalists Wondering: “Is the 2010 World Cup a Disaster in the Making?”]
» » [2 Assassinated Whistleblowers, A Hit List, ANC's Mafia Premier & a World Cup Stadium...]
» » [Secret World of FIFA & Sepp Blatter: Bribery, Blackmail, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals]
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