Soccer bid rewards 'ridiculous'

2004-07-26 07:48

Johannesburg - There has been mounting criticism of multimillion rand rewards for the three main architects of South Africa's successful Soccer World Cup bid, SABC reported.

The Safa executive decided at the weekend that president Molefi Oliphant, Irvin Khoza, the bid committee chairperson, and Danny Jordaan, the bid committee CEO, would each receive R7.4m after tax.

Richard Maguire, the MD of one of South Africa's leading soccer magazines, said the amount is ridiculous.

Maguire says the amount could be in line with international standards for rewards for business successes.

However, he says people such as Oliphant do not qualify for R7.4m - especially from an organisation that has admitted to having a deficit.

He questioned the importance of Oliphant's role, saying: "I understand why people like Jordaan who has been working on the bid for seven years, and why Khoza would get it, but not in Oliphant's case."

SAFA said the rewards came out of sponsorships and a government grant paid towards funding the Bid for the 2010 tournament.

- News24