Khoza okay with Madlala acting as CEO for 11 years because she knows what clubs need

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza says that they have been “bitten” by neutral chief executive officers (CEOs) enough to know that they are better off having one of their own in the position.

As the country’s elite league goes into its 30th year, the burning question on many a soccer fan’s lips is whether the PSL will eventually get a new administrative leader and free Golden Arrows boss Mato Madlala to focus on her club. Madlala has been in the acting role for a remarkable 11 years, something of an anomaly in governance.

But as Khoza reflected on the three decades of a league he and many other club owners have painstakingly built into the continent’s most commercially viable league, the “Iron Duke” says those criticising them for having Madlala at the helm are missing the point.

“Yes, we’d love to have a full-time CEO and perhaps one who is independent. But it is not just a simple matter of hiring someone,” he said during our interview in the PSL boardroom in Parktown this week. “People must remember that we have had many CEOs over the years. We had the likes of Joe Ndhlela, Reverend (Robin) Petersen and Professor Mandla Mchunu. Every one of them arrived with promises and new ideas, but many of them struggled because they did not fully understand the dynamics of professional football.
“Some ended up being influenced by interests outside the league because we had no control over them.”

Madlala, he argues, brings in a completely different dimension to the post than her predecessors. “People ask why we have someone like Mato Madlala in the position, but they must understand the environment we operate in. She knows the clubs. She understands their struggles because she lives them every day. That institutional knowledge is important.”
A better understanding of the role of the CEO would also help demystify the league’s comfortability with one of theirs being in charge, Khoza said.

“When people talk about the CEO, they sometimes think that person runs everything alone. That is not how the PSL works. We have governance structures. Fixtures are not decided by the CEO alone. You have to consult clubs, broadcasters and everyone affected.”
“Financial decisions also go through governance structures. The final sign-off is not even the CEO’s responsibility. And in our executive we have chairmen of eight of the clubs. That is deliberate because we believe people who have built and managed clubs understand the consequences of every decision taken by the league.”

He understands why some people are advocating for a neutral CEO but he and the league have learnt from experience that neutrality does not always mean no hidden agendas.
“An outsider can come with impressive presentations, but sometimes they are building their own empire rather than strengthening the institution. What we have always tried to protect is the institution. That is why continuity matters.

“Mato understands that responsibility because she comes from the football environment and appreciates that every decision taken by the league has an impact on all the clubs.”
Khoza believes that the PSL will continue to grow even stronger and is delighted to see it reaching the 30-year milestone given just how hard it took him, Kaizer Motaung and Raymond Hack to convince doubting Thomases that the idea to commercialise the game was right.

Matshelane Mamabolo