JOHANNESBURG –The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the South African Football Association (Safa) have reached a four-year agreement on the broadcast rights of Safa matches and events.
Among others, the agreement would annually cover six Bafana Bafana matches (three home Afcon qualifiers; two international friendlies; and the Nelson Mandela Challenge) and five Banyana Banyana home friendly matches, including the Winnie Mandela Challenge, the SABC and Safa said in a joint statement on Sunday.
The agreement further covered domestic competitions, including the U/19 women’s national championship final, Burger King U/20 national championships final, U/23 men’s national championships final, ABC Motsepe national play-offs final, KAY Motsepe schools final, Futsal and Beach Football national championships finals, and the Sasol women's league finals and various Safa national women's league matches. It also provided for a weekly Safa magazine show and the Safa annual awards.
SABC group chief executive officer Madoda Mxakwe said in the statement that “in negotiating this deal with Safa, the SABC needed to find a balance between fulfilling its public mandate and entering into an agreement which was commercially viable. We understand the role we play in promoting sports of national interest, and inspiring the next generation of sports stars”.
Safa president Danny Jordaan said the agreement was a welcome development, considering the SABC’s public reach and influence.
“As Safa, we are pleased to have finally come to an agreement with the public broadcaster which is in the public interest and the good of the game. After protracted negotiations, it is great that the public will once again get to watch Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana and other national teams matches on SABC in addition to various other important football development programmes, that has seen Safa make a major impact on football on the continent,” he said.
The Nelson Mandela Challenge between Bafana Bafana and Mali would be broadcast live on SABC1 at 3pm on Sunday afternoon, the statement said.