Cash-flush Safa set to record R33 million profit after moving out of the red

The South African Football Association (Safa) expects to make a complete financial turnaround and report a R33 million profit when the final numbers are tallied by auditors for the financial year ended June 30.

The football body reported staggering losses of more than R40 million at its yearly congress six months ago‚ but Safa president Danny Jordaan told TimesLIVE on Wednesday they have projected a move back into the black in the current financial year.

The auditors still have to sign off on the final numbers but Jordaan said their financials have a healthy look about them because of:

* R10 million from the SABC

* R11‚7 million from the Confederation of African Football (Caf)

* R8 million from the Legacy Trust

* and R4 million from South African Breweries

Jordaan said he is confident of a complete turnaround as more money is expected from other revenue streams.

‘‘The contribution of Fifa will also be significant and it will be $1‚2 million‚” he said.

‘‘We also have revenue from broadcast from Caf‚ which is about R4 million. So that is additional revenue that we have.

‘‘And then on the other side we have exercised tighter control on expenditure.

"So you will see that we did not have particular meetings‚ there is more efficiency in terms of the meetings of the regions.

‘‘The other thing that we saved on was exercising more efficiency in terms of our teams.

"The fact that the (junior) teams are now staying at the national technical centre means that they are not staying in the hotels any more.

‘‘This reduced our hotel bill significantly.”

Jordaan said after the financial losses they incurred in the last financial year‚ they sat down and looked at areas where they could reduce expenses and improve profitability.

Accommodation and air travel are Safa’s biggest expenditure every year and the five-year partnership with national airline South African Airways has also had a massive impact on the financials.

‘‘So we looked at areas where we could save‚” Jordaan said.

‘‘Accommodation‚ travel‚ both national and international travel‚ and car rentals. Those were the three big areas.

‘‘We are now flying with tickets that we draw from our sponsors SAA. We are now able to fly all our teams and all our members.

"Those two — our hotel bill and our flight costs — were about between R20 million to R25 million each (per year).

‘‘That means we have saved about R40 million.

"So it is very significant and that is how much we have reduced costs. Our car rental bill was also around R25 million (per year).

"So by buying cars and giving them (the Safa regions) the cars to use‚ there is no charge to Safa.

‘‘We pay off the cars and make a saving in one year.”

Jordaan said he has never understood how some of their critics keep describing the football body as ‘‘bankrupt or cash-strapped.”

‘‘How could that be? It is not so.

‘‘There is no ’For sale sign’ outside Safa House.

"There is no ’For sale sign’ outside Fun Valley‚ nor on our cars and busses.

‘‘What we do have is better cash flow management and that is what we must insist on the administration.

‘‘It is what happens with money in‚ and not just Safa. The sponsorship agreement make provisions for two lump sum payments and it may be in January and in December.

‘‘So you must manage your money for the period when you have no income.

"And that is a cashflow management issue.”

— TimesLIVE