Patrice Motsepe publicly declared, a couple of years ago, that Sundowns would play their part for the country by providing Bafana Bafana with outstanding players for the World Cup. However, what has happened is actually the exact opposite because they have become the place where footballers’ careers die.

The club’s policy of willy-nilly buying any player that is talked about has resulted in a bloated squad of players, bought without strategy. As a result, once promising players such as Thando Mgomeni and Manqoba “Shakes” Ngwenya have been wasted and their economic value has plummeted. Continue Reading

Kaizer Motaung has done very well as a soccer entrepreneur by starting and growing Kaizer Chiefs into arguably the biggest soccer brand in the country. The same applies to John Comitis who owns Ajax Cape Town.

He’s built this club into a sustainable long-term business with fantastic infrastructure. Patrice Motsepe is a mining entrepreneur who has not shown any acumen in sports despite his noble and very grand intentions.

For Patrice, Mamelodi Sundowns is like a sideshow which he is not giving the attention it needs to be really financially successful. He is just throwing money at it with very little strategy. Then there is Dieter Bock who bought Moroka Swallows and is only seen once or twice a year at the club’s prize-giving ceremonies. Continue Reading

I still can’t believe that the first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will kick-off in exactly 363 days from now. This will be the big climax to a journey that begins in Johannesburg, this coming Sunday, when the FIFA Confederations Cup starts.

From there onwards it will be Africa’s turn to be at the centre of the most important international competitions. As of next week the whole world will be watching how South Africa project-manages the FIFA Confed Cup.

The successful staging of this tournament will have far-reaching ramifications not only for South Africa but also the rest of the continent. Investors from around the world will know that there is a well structured environment in which to do business. Continue Reading

We are approaching the climax of the soccer season globally with a lot of leagues titles decided already. Continue Reading