Khoza says proposed Icasa regulations could ‘cripple’ soccer in SA
Icasa wants sports rights to be available on a free to air basis instead of the subscription.
JOHANNESBURG - The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has slammed the proposed free to air regulations from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).
Icasa wants sports rights to be available on a free to air basis instead of the subscription.
PSL chairman Dr Irvin Khoza says the proposed free to air regulations from Icasa have the potential to cripple the professionalisation of football in the country.
“No broadcast rights means that far less remuneration for the clubs who will have to cut their staff to the bone and far more players will be unemployed. There will be a mass retrenchment.”
Khoza “By doing this ICASA will threaten what we have work so hard to achieve and that is exclusivity of our attractive product.”
— EWN Sport (@EWNsport) January 29, 2019
Khoza “It is not feasible for ICASA to want all football rights in the country, domestic and national to be free as that will be the end of the professional game in the league.”
— EWN Sport (@EWNsport) January 29, 2019
Khoza says should these proposed regulations come into law, it could cut the league’s revenue streams by more than 80% and could foresee a mass retrenchment of its staff and its clubs would suffer substantially.
Icasa was meant to make the decision of whether to enforce these proposed regulations on 4 February, but that has now been pushed back to March.
(Edited by Thapelo Lekabe)
