Pitso’s 2010 job cost Safa R70m

Pitso Mosimane. Photo by Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images.

Pitso Mosimane. Photo by Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images.

Published Apr 20, 2014

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Johannesburg - Former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane was paid a hefty golden handshake by the SA Football Association (Safa) despite its claims that he cost the football federation more than R70 million when the team failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup.

Safa blames Mosimane for not qualifying for the tournament, which directly resulted in the association losing out on the $1m (about R10.5m) prize for qualification and annual Absa sponsorship worth R20m a year over three years.

Mosimane, now with Mamelodi Sundowns, was fired from his R23 000-a-day job by Safa in June 2012 after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the global football showpiece in Brazil.

His contract was due to expire a month after the World Cup.

Papers filed at the Labour Court in Joburg, where Mosimane and Safa were battling it out for the R15m the former Bafana Bafana mentor was demanding from the association, reveal his money-spinning stint as the soccer national team coach.

In February, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, the terms of which were made confidential.

According to Mosimane’s amended statement of claim, dated February 3, the amount included more than R13.1m for about two years left in his contract when he was fired, R1.5m for 65 leave days and over R110 000 for petrol claims, attendance of the World Football Academy’s periodisation expert meeting and the two draws in practice matches against Zambia and Ghana ahead of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), for which Bafana Bafana failed to qualify.

Safa had previously offered him R500 000 and R1.5m as compensation but Mosimane rejected these offers.

According to Mosimane’s contract, he had an annual salary of R6m or R500 000 a month and would have been paid an unspecified bonus had Bafana Bafana qualified for the Afcon 2012.

He would also have been paid 20 percent more than the bonuses given to players should he progress in the tournament.

A similar deal was in place for qualifying for the World Cup.

In February 2012, less than two weeks before the Afcon 2012 final, Mosimane signed an amendment to his contract.

The amendment, approved by then-Safa chief executive Robin Petersen, gave Mosimane a R50 000 performance bonus for winning official matches and R35 000 for friendlies.

He was also given R25 000 for draws in official games and R17 500 for friendly matches.

In his court papers, Mosimane says Bafana Bafana’s failure to qualify for Afcon 2012 was due to circumstances beyond his control.

He was also issued a written warning after the national team failed to qualify for the continental tournament.

Mosimane says during his tenure as national coach, Safa failed to establish proper and efficient talent identification and youth development programmes and a team of competent, qualified and fit referees.

Mosimane, who turns 50 in July, blames Safa for not providing him with a complete support team and not preventing divisions from developing within his technical team.

According to Mosimane, Safa failed to motivate and support players by providing them with the necessary logistical support and timeously pay contractual amounts due to them such as match bonuses.

Safa says Mosimane was unable to effectively manage, supervise and motivate players and instil confidence and morale.

It described Mosimane’s last game in charge of Bafana Bafana as a “lacklustre performance” and claims it seriously and irreparably lost faith, trust and confidence in him.

Mosimane declined to comment.

Safa spokesman Dominic Chimhavi said the association would not comment on the matter of the former Bafana Bafana mentor because it had been finalised. - The Sunday Independent

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