18 June 2007
We have always stated our case on broadcasting of sport in South Africa.
Sport is a national asset which must be accessible to all our people. This must
not be inhibited by financial constraints or the urban-rural divide.
The above principle must apply to playing, administering and especially
being a spectator (whether at a stadium, viewing a television broadcast or
listening to the radio). As such, the media is important in accessing sports
events to the far-flung spectators who own our sport. We have impressed the
importance of these values to all our federations. The latest to be engaged in
this is the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in a number of meetings these last few
months.
We have also engaged broadcasting houses on this issue of accessibility of
sport since 1994 already. We engaged both the SABC and Supersport on this
jointly and severally on the PSL Games Bid. We strongly emphasised the
importance of our people's access to the soccer games of the PSL, which they
helped to build over many years.
As a Ministry, we know that Supersport cannot be blamed for winning the bid.
They won it within the law. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same of the SABC
and the PSL. Their handling of this matter was less than mature. It was less
than forward-looking. In fact, we believe that they allowed personal egos to
dictate how to deal with problems.
We call on all the parties again, to find a way to access the games to all
our people whilst still making the business of broadcasting viable and
developing to meet future challenges. Games must be accessible and affordable
to all.
Enquiries:
Manase Makwela
Cell: 082 782 1759
Issued by: Sport and Recreation South Africa
18 June 2007
Source: Sport and Recreation South Africa (http://www.srsa.gov.za)
