Bafana Bafana legend and former Manchester United strikers’ coach Benni McCarthy was shocked and devastated to learn that the South African Football Association (Safa) still
owes Bafana players match fees, even up to this day.
Match fees and bonus struggles were a common thread during McCarthy’s time in the various SA national teams when he was still a teenager in the 1990s and later a top striker for Bafana. He had a lot of run-ins with the association regarding unpaid or late match fees.
Last week, Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao admitted to Sunday World that the association indeed owed Bafana and Banyana Banyana players match fees from previous camps and that they were hoping to resolve the matter before the end of the year.
The 47-year-old McCarthy is Bafana’s all-time leading goal scorer with 30 goals after 70 matches. He was lost for words when the news regarding unpaid match fees were revealed to him during an interview with Sunday World Engage.
“It’s so sad and painful to hear that 20 years later, this is still happening. I thought that we fought the battles so that Safa and Bafana can be in a better position so that these players, this current generation, never have to go through that,” he said.
“I got scrutinised for that – for sticking up for the players. And to hear that now, when Bafana are again becoming a powerhouse and the pride of the nation, when they are bringing the fans back, there’s excitement and they are qualifying for Afcon – first in the group and with games in hand, something that we have not done in many years – is shocking.
“The team has Ballon d’Or representatives and the fact that Safa is still the same I cannot fathom. I hope the players do not despair and that they can be bigger mentally and that Safa can get it right one day.
When asked about the current leadership at the association, Benni said that it was not his fight: “I fought for too many years and for a long time. Whoever makes the decisions, they do not listen to what has been said. Since the 1998 World Cup, it continued in 2002 Korea/Japan, the same struggles.
“We fought again in Alexandria, Egypt (2006 Afcon) and the tournament was a complete disaster because of the same struggles and fights. Come on South Africa, when are we going to stand together and fight to get the right people in football. “Let football govern football and not people who do not know how the game works but they make decisions and they have never kicked a soccer ball. Fifa and corporates are giving money to the federations and the federations cannot pay the players , that’s not right,” he added.
The former Ajax Amsterdam, FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham goal-poacher said that they needed football people who can make decisions that benefit the players: “The country and the fans want to see this nation back in the top five in Africa and also in the top 20 in the world, where we were before.
“When we were playing, that was the beginning of the struggle but 20 years later, what more do we have to do? The Minister of Sports [Gayton McKenzie] said that if we are not succeeding they will then intervene but they should have intervened a long time ago. Hopefully, the change will come and when it does, we will be better.
“The minister must put the necessary people under pressure; that’s just what we want, so that Bafana cannot go into Afcon competitions, Fifa World Cup qualifiers, still worrying about unpaid match bonuses that they deserve and that they have earned,” he said.
