OPINION – Wits’ handling of their own demise has been a total shambles

As such, Bidvest Wits’ decision to sell their Premier Soccer League franchise to Limpopo businessman Lawrence ‘Masala’ Mulaudzi is not really a shock to the system, though it is deeply sad, that a club so ingrained in the history of the game in this country should, just is as it was about to turn 100, suddenly cease to exist from the start of next season.

It is not even Covid-19 that started the economic downturn for Wits. Bidvest were already cutting budgets at their football club at the start of the season.

“It’s South Africa‚ isn’t it? It’s the economy in the country. People are losing jobs. Companies are cutting back everywhere. And it’s understandable. We are working in tough times. And football‚ obviously‚ is an industry where you will pull the plug first,” said Wits coach Gavin Hunt back in August, long before the coronavirus swept across the globe.

Wits are also hardly the first franchise to sell up. Cape Town City emerged after purchasing MP Black Aces. AmaZulu got back into the Absa Premiership by buying Thanda Royal Zulu. It is a system that is ethically dubious, but it is a reality of the game in South Africa and have learned to accept it, however much I think it is ridiculous.

The handling of the owners of Wits of their sale, however, has been a farce, and an insult to everyone who helped build the Clever Boys into one of the best teams in the country, and at the very least a regular fixture in the Absa Premiership.

This sale, after all, has been a long time coming, yet the Bidvest Group have remained tight-lipped, refusing to comment at all, while in the case of Wits chairman Alan Fainman, he has been denying it altogether.

Yet privately, Wits had finally started telling their staff (Phakaaathi understands that the players were  not even informed officially until last week!) that a deal is nearly done, and it seemed to get 100 percent over the line on Saturday when TTM, the club Mulaudzi owns, announced the purchase of Wits and all it’s players.

The club will relocated to Limpopo, provided the Premier Soccer League Board of Governors ratify the sale, and they don’t have a history of rejecting such deals, and Wits’ players and staff, at least those that TTM do not keep, will have to seek jobs elsewhere.

The likes of head coach Gavin Hunt, and many of the playing squad, with Wits having built a top class outfit, consistently challenging for honours, should not have too much problem locating another team, with Sundowns and Pirates already sniffing around a number of deals, and TTM clearly not able to afford to keep them.

But what of the general staff, what of those people who for years and years have been the lifeblood of this club? And what of Bidvest, who sit on top of this mess, and who appear not have a care in the world for the people who work for them, given their behaviour regarding this matter. Any attempt to ask the Bidvest Group about the sale is met with a swift “no comment”.

While the obvious reasoning would appear to be financial, Phakaaathi understands that staff at Wits have been told this is not the case.  Phakaaathi has also been told that Wits’ incoming CEO, Mpumi Madisa is a main influence behind the company’s decision, as she want to focus their sponsorship efforts elsewhere.

But a lack of transparency over the sale of the club is not casting her on anyone else at Bidvest in an especially good light. In fact, they give the impression of a sponsor that couldn’t care less about the club that bears their title. For example, let’s say the issue here is not financial – why would you not allow the club to celebrate it’s centenary next year and then sell up, if need be, also giving all involved more time to make proper preparations?

and Wits are also hardly the first club to sell their PSL status.

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