BFA, Kabelano Trust on collision course?

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Friday April 9, 2010 00:00

 

BFA entered into a written agreement with the Trust for use of the association's affiliates which also include Premier League teams in the event while at the same time, the Premier League Committee (PLC), a BFA baby, entered into an agreement with the league sponsors, be MOBILE which bars any Premier League team from participating in any event organised by its competitors, Orange and Mascom. The league sponsors have in their agreement with the PLC promised to stage their own charity tournament. Although Kabelano Trust chairperson Terrence Dambe did not want to say whether they intended to sue, he did mention that the legal route would be one of the options. He also pointed out that they still believe that negotiations can continue with both the BFA and the Premier League. 

Dambe also told journalists at a media briefing on Wednesday that since the inception of the event, permission for the teams to participate has always been sought from the BFA. 'Over the years, we have built a good relationship with the BFA such that we would inform them every year of which teams we would like to participate in a given event. In return, we would pledge funds to the association to be used for youth development. We would then negotiate with the teams to reach [an] agreement regarding their participation,' he said. Dambe explained that in 2007, in recognition of the creation of the Premier League as a structure of the BFA and as a matter of courtesy, they decided to have discussions with the league regarding participation of the Premier League teams in the annual event. He added that after various discussions with the PLC, it was then brought to their attention by BFA that the approach they had adopted in discussing participation with PLC was irregular. 'We were advised that the proper procedure was for us to approach the association for permission to use any of its affiliates (including the Premier League teams) as we had done in the past,' he added. This, he went on, prompted BFA to express the desire to formalise the relationship with Kabelano by entering into a fixed three-year contract signed in January 2008. The contract, he said, provided no restrictions on which affiliates they could approach to participate and therefore, naturally and by clear custom, affiliates included Premier League teams.

Dambe revealed that at the end of January this year, they sent invitations to certain Premier League sides to participate in this year's event. He said they got no response and contacted teams to establish their position only to be advised by officials to deal with PLC as their representative on the issue. At the meeting held on March 2, the PLC requested Kabelano Trust to submit a written proposal of what they were offering, which would then be discussed at the next meeting to take place two days later. He said after submitting the offer, as requested, the Premier League secretariat indicated that they could not meet as some committee members were unavailable. The meeting was postponed to the following Monday of which the Premier League general manager, Phuthego Setete, informed him that a decision had been made that no Premier League teams would participate in the Kabelano Charity Cup as the league was planning to stage a charity event of which they had assured their sponsor (be MOBILE) of exclusivity since the Kabelano event is sponsored by a rival company, Mascom Wireless.

'Given that we had agreed on the way forward in addressing our request, we were most surprised that the Premier League had now somersaulted and made a unilateral decision without meeting with us, as previously agreed. Their position was subsequently confirmed in writing,' he said. Dambe said they then contacted their stakeholders and responded to the league by formally requesting them to reconsider their position, citing the existence of the contract with BFA. 'In the letter, we requested a meeting to discuss the issue. Not surprisingly, we have not heard from the league,' he added. The trust then invoked a clause in the agreement between Kabelano and the BFA, which permits the latter to mediate if there is a dispute between the trust and BFA affiliates. 'We are yet to hear from the BFA regarding our request or indeed as to their formal position as a result of the apparent disagreement between the Trust and the league,' he said.

He said the purpose of entering into a contract with BFA was to avoid uncertainty. Dambe admitted that the PLC decision does present a challenge to the event but 'we remain hopeful that the issue can be resolved to the benefit of all'.

Meanwhile, Dambe confirmed that they are talking 'to a foreign team to spice up the event'. He said that they wanted to bring something different for the spectators. Two local teams will lock horns in the first game. The winner will then play against the foreign team. The team that loses to a local team will get P50, 000. The local team that reaches the final will get P100, 000 if they lose to a foreign team and an additional P30, 000 if they win. Dambe, however, would not state the exact amount, which is to be given to a foreign team but refuted recent reports that the foreign team would receive a record P1 million appearance fee.