The future of Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Thabang Moroe is as uncertain as ever, despite six
months having passed since he was suspended for alleged misconduct.
On Thursday, the situation was
further complicated when Moroe arrived at CSA’s headquarters in Johannesburg to
return to work, with his lawyer, Michael Motsoeneng Bill, confirming to Sport24 it was a case of business as usual and Moroe was
ready to report for duty.
In the early hours of Friday
morning, CSA issued a statement after a lengthy board meeting in which it was
confirmed Moroe was, in fact, still suspended.
It leaves the organisation in
an all too familiar position of uncertainty that does not inspire much in the
way of confident, decisive leadership.
CSA has committed to proceeding
with its independent forensic investigation into the matter and is hoping to
provide more clarity by the end of June, but the fact there has been no
finality in half-a-year has raised and potentially leaves the organisation
hamstrung in its efforts to progress.
The board and CSA president
Chris Nenzani are now under massive pressure, once again, with the South
African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) having voiced its dismay at the
organisation’s failure to act earlier this week.
Nenzani is set to address the media
on Tuesday evening.
In Moroe’s absence, CSA has
been operating under the leadership of Jacques Faul as acting CEO, but his
future is now also uncertain given Moroe is ready to get back to work.
Whether Moroe is eventually
found innocent or guilty is a matter in isolation, but it does not detract from
the fact that the CSA leadership is making headlines for the wrong reasons, as
was the case in the weeks and months leading up to Moroe’s suspension on
December 6 last year.
One of the major worries is how
the current state of affairs, in this time of severe financial challenges given
the crippling effect of the coronavirus on the global sporting economy, will
influence the willingness of potential investors and sponsors to part ways with
their money moving forward.
“The talk is that the
sponsorship market may reduce by as much as 40%,” Andrew Breetzke, the CEO
of the SACA, told Sport24 on Friday.
“The three main sporting
codes in South Africa – cricket, soccer and rugby – now have to fight for 60%
of what is left.
“To succeed in that
market, what do you have to show? Good governance, good systems and good
practices. Those are all the things we expect of a professional business, and
the current disciplinary crisis undermines this.
“From a SACA point of
view, it’s a worry for cricket. We’re only worried about cricket and we have to
get this right.”
Under Faul and Director of
Cricket Graeme Smith, who was unveiled shortly after Moroe’s suspension, CSA
have enjoyed a close working relationship with the SACA.
A lucrative three-match T20
series on home soil, scheduled for August, has been secured while on Monday,
CSA is set to launch a new-look, three-team domestic competition that will
serve as South Africa’s first cricket since the coronavirus crisis brought
everything to a halt.
Plans for the proposed domestic
restructure, too, are ongoing.
All are issues of high
importance, and all require a strong, united leadership to pave the way
forward.
Presently, that is not
something that CSA seems to possess.
Timeline
of CSA under Moroe:
16 July 2018: Moroe is named
the permanent CEO of CSA having served in the role in an acting capacity for
around a year.
17 July 2018: Moroe
commits to CSA staging what would later be called the Mzansi Super League (MSL)
that year. He confirms SuperSport will be an equity partner in the product as
well as the tournament’s broadcaster.
21 August 2018: SuperSport
announce it is no longer pursuing an equity share in the new T20 tournament but
is still in discussions with CSA over broadcasting rights.
27 August 2018: Sunfoil
pulls out as the sponsor of South Africa’s four-day domestic competition and of
Test cricket in the country.
5 September 2018: Momentum
pulls out as the title sponsor of the national women’s side.
13 December 2018: Castle
Lager unveiled as headline sponsor for upcoming Test matches against Pakistan
and Sri Lanka.
8 April 2019: CSA confirms
domestic cricket in South Africa is set for a major restructure, with Moroe
keen on scrapping the existing franchise system for a more traditional 12-team
provincial set-up from the 2020/21 season. Moroe says the projected loss of CSA
over the next four years will drop from R650 million to R350 million because of
the restructure.
9 April 2019: The SACA
expresses concern over how the proposed domestic restructure would benefit the
game financially.
30 May 2019: The SACA
announces it will be taking CSA to court over the proposed restructure, saying
it has been excluded from examining the detailed financials of the
organisation.
19 July 2019: The Proteas’
dismal 2019 World Cup campaign comes to an end as they finish seventh.
4 August 2019: Coach Ottis
Gibson and his entire backroom staff are sacked following the disappointment of
the World Cup. It is later revealed Gibson had been promised another contract
with CSA as early as February. CSA announces a new structure that will see
the head coach role replaced by a team director, while there will also be a
director of cricket. Enoch Nkwe is named interim team director and Corrie van
Zyl is named acting director of cricket.
8 September 2019: CSA president Chris Nenzani defends Moroe after
it is revealed the organisation suffered a R200 million loss over the last
financial year, thanks mainly to the cost of staging the first year of the MSL.
22 September 2019: CSA
places the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) under administration
over the handling of funds in a Newlands Stadium development. The entire board
is suspended.
21 October 2019: The Proteas
are humiliated in India, going down 3-0 in the Test series.
28 October 2019: The SACA
releases a statement claiming it is owed R2.5 million from CSA in commercial
player rights dating back to the 2018 MSL.
29 October 2019: Senior
CSA officials Corrie van Zyl, Naasei Appiah and Clive Eksteen are all suspended
for alleged dereliction of duty relating to the R2.5 million SACA payment. They
are banned from entering CSA headquarters. No public explanation is given as to
how they failed in their respective roles and CSA confirms the owed money has
now been paid.
31 October 2019: The SACA
expresses shock at the suspensions, confirming it had no dealings with Appiah
in seeking the payment and adding both Van Zyl and Eksteen had actively pressed
CSA to resolve the issue.
14 November 2019: Former
Proteas captain Graeme Smith removes himself from the running for the DOC role
just six days after being linked. He says the negotiation phase with CSA has
been “frustrating”, while he is not certain he would get the freedom
to operate in the role without interference.
26 November 2019: The WPCA wins
its arbitration case against CSA, who must cover all costs in the matter. CSA releases
a statement saying it will not be opposing the ruling and the WPCA board is
reinstated.
1 December 2019: CSA confirms it
has revoked the match-day accreditations of five South African cricket writers
because of how they covered ongoing events at the organisation. The decision is
met with an outcry on social media and Sanef, SACA, Standard Bank and former
CSA president Norman Arendse all express concern at the current
leadership.
The decision is overturned less
than 24 hours later, with Moroe apologising to all involved.
6 December 2019: Standard Bank
announces, due to administrative developments at CSA, it will not be renewing
its sponsorship of the Proteas. Moroe is officially suspended later that
day.
