Societies model: Football clubs’ trauma bond
Mqondisi Dube | Monday April 20, 2026 06:00
Calls to abandon the society model of running clubs have been increasing in recent years. In fact, a solid plan was mooted nearly 20 years ago in a conference room at Selebi-Phikwe’s Bosele Hotel, hence the name, the Bosele Declaration.
Men and women entrusted with the administration of the game at the time met and came up with a guiding tool, the Bosele Declaration, which was expected to give birth to a life of ‘living happily ever after’ for local clubs.
But the implementation post the birth of the document has not been without pains. Clubs have meandered in and out of administration models, with a keen eye on privatisation, but they have often landed in no man’s land, if not back to the society design.
Most clubs in the top flight yearn to reach the land of privatisation, turning from a society set-up that has often been a source of conflict to a professionally run entity.
From the black and white of Extension Gunners, the red and white of TAFIC, to the royal blue of Township Rollers, the challenges roll in the same direction.
At some stage, the clubs are a private company with a majority shareholder, whilst 20% is reserved for the supporters who represent the society.
And in the blink of an eye, the old arrangement is restored, with the society taking over the full running of the club as the sustainability of the private company models has failed the test of time.
This has left clubs searching for a durable solution, with Gunners, TAFIC and Rollers suffering from pronounced financial challenges, not only due to the society model, but also the effectiveness of a one-man investor show. Investors like Sayed Jamali, Jagdish Shah, Chief Ally Kgomongwe, Jimmy Kereng, Ernest Molome and Sommerset Gobuiwang are amongst those who have come and gone, leaving wobbly clubs behind.
This is a testament that even the investor model does not represent the hypodermic needle or magic bullet, instead providing only temporary relief.
The departure of an investor has often spelt doom, with Rollers in particular a living case study of how the situation quickly turned south the moment Shah departed the scene. In his 2023 league transformation roadmap speech, Letshwiti spoke about the need to urgently dump the society model in favour of a more professional set-up where clubs run like private companies. There has been no definite success in this transition.
Some top clubs in the world, notably Barcelona, still function as a society with overwhelming success. But on evidence, the local game has rejected the society model, with the management set-up blamed for a litany of misery that most clubs face.
The local market has also been unkind as efforts to solicit partnership have often been met with locked doors. Gate takings are hardly sufficient to sustain clubs, while the grants have remained a pittance.
Clubs have found it difficult to break away from the traditional society set-up, with reports emerging this week that TAFIC will revert to the age-old model at the beginning of next season.
The model now stands as a trauma-bond, where the relationship with clubs is unhealthy, but almost impossible to break.