Bareng-Batho Kortjaas and Njabulo Ngidi look into what it costs to run a team in the Premier Soccer LeagueChippa Mpengesi wishes he was like Moïse Katumbi, his soccer boss and businessman counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Like Mpengesi, who counts a professional soccer club among his empire, Katumbi boasts TP Mazembe in his boutique of businesses. But that's where the similarities end."One of these days, when I'm like that man from TP Mazembe, it would be better," chirped Mpengesi when the Sunday Times asked him about the cost of running a PSL team.In 2010, Mazembe became the first African team to reach the final of the Fifa Club World Cup. The Ravens arrived in host country United Arab Emirates in Katumbi's private jet.In 2011, Katumbi added a 140-seater McDonnell Douglas MD-80, complete with a 16-seat VIP lounge painted in the black and white colours of the club, with its tail bearing the logo of the 72-year-old club —  to ease the team's transportation problems.Mpengesi foots a R60-million annual bill to run his club, R1-million of which goes towards financing transport costs for a single trip to the Free State.Free State is a killer"It is even worse when you play Free State Stars. There are no flights that go straight from Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontein or Polokwane or Rustenburg. But the worst one is Free State, it's a killer," says Mpengesi, adding "it costs us close to a million just on flights alone from PE to Johannesburg to Bloemfontein for a group of 30 people including players, coaches, doctors and security. You have to break the bank for that trip. It is either that or a seven to eight hour drive by bus."Travelling costs hit Mpengesi harder because his is the sole elite club in the Eastern Cape, subjecting United to 15 away trips in a 30 match league programme. "My spending is more than any of the other PSL teams. We are the only club in the province. If I go to Polokwane it is either I take two flights, or get to Joburg and take a bus trip. The worst part is that these small airlines don't even give discounts." But transport is not what costs the most — that belongs to salaries, signing on fees and commissions to agents,says Mpengesi.Revenue StreamsSuperSport United chief executive officer Stan Matthews says "you need to spend around R3m-R4m a month to survive in the PSL these days or you probably can't play in that space". Matthews concurs with Mpengesi that the biggest cost is the acquisition and wages of players. "Anytime a player is half decent, everybody is quoting you X-million for him. That's why you see the emphasis from us to try and push our youth so that we can avoid these big transfer fees. It's a fine balancing game from the rands and cents point of view." Revenue streams for clubs include TV rights money, prize money, sponsorship money, sale of players and gate takings."If you look at those five sources of income, the gate takings, especially for a team like us, aren't huge. It's not a significant amount of income."In actual fact, we lose money in the majority of our home games. It's only in the big games where we make a profit at the gates," Matthews says.The 16 PSL clubs get R1.5-million in monthly grants and the host team takes the gate takings. Each club also gets R30- to R32-million from the PSL, an amount that includes ex gratia payments such as competing in cup competitions. "There are high costs involved in running a safe and secure stadium. It's very difficult for us to meet those costs. If you break even, you're happy. The sale of players is hard because if you do that, you weaken the team."I could get a big figure for Jeremy Brockie right now, but what will my new coach say if I sold such a player without giving him a chance to work with him? You don't want to sell, but you want to make money."Struggle to surviveWhen the cost of running Mpumalanga Black Aces burnt holes in the pockets of the Morfou brothers, Mario and George, they sold the status to John Commitis who renamed the club Cape Town City. "It's an expensive business. There are the academies that you need to service and bonuses that you pay. You must be clever in terms of how you run your team to survive, especially if you don't have a sponsor," Mario says."Selling the club was a very difficult decision because through football we were able to expand our other businesses. But if we continued, we would have crippled those businesses. We were caught between a rock and a hard place." Sponsorship is the backbone that sustains the team."If you don't have a sponsor or the sale of players to balance the books, then it becomes really difficult," adds Matthews. "Club owners make tremendous sacrifices. They really put their money where their mouths are. It's such a great game and the PSL is so competitive. Sponsorships are not easy to come by. We are fortunate to have a great sponsor like Engen who've enabled us to make the seven cup finals we have reached in the last few years."Poor brand positioningStuart Masela, sponsorship director at EXP, says the problem is that most of the teams don't know what they're selling."Sponsorship is a marketing opportunity for your brand. Back in the days, clubs used to say 'sponsor us because your brand will be on TV.' But if you are Maritzburg United, for instance, and tell Coca-Cola that sponsor us because your brand will be on TV, that's not going to work. Coca-Cola is a huge brand on its own, which is why you must know what you are selling to them.If, for instance, you approach Cashbuild and say that come and sponsor us, and then they ask you what will I get in return? You can tell them that we know that one of your biggest crowd pullers is competitions. We can give you our popular players to help you promote your competitions.If, for instance, you want to refurbish your stadium, you can tell them that they will get first preference in that."Rugby and cricket teams have people who know how to commercialise their sport entity. They might not be winning, but they work hard to get sponsors because they have people with business skills looking for sponsors. They also make sure that they avail players to go on sponsorship drives. There are some football clubs, when results aren't going well, who will say that the players aren't available to do sponsors' events. You must take care of the sponsors so that they stick around."NFD tough terrainThe dream of owning a team in the Premier Division is haunted by the nightmare that comes with running one in the National First Division."It's very hard," Themba Mafu, chairman and coach of Witbank Spurs, said. "The R380,000 monthly grants we get don't even cover the salaries. It's just not enough. So you have to find another avenue to cover the shortfall. More often than not, that means going into your own pockets as a club owner if you don't have another stream of income. The costs of travelling and accommodation also take up a huge chunk of money. You had a situation where there were five teams from Cape Town (before Santos were relegated). That means you had to fly there five times a season. A team in the NFD spends R700,000 or more a month."To cut costs, clubs have to be inventive and put in a lot of cost-cutting measures that include one person doing more than one job. Mafu admitted that among the reasons why he also doubles as the club's coach is to save money. His coaching background allows him to be able to do both jobs just like Jomo Sono at Jomo Cosmos.In March, Ezenkosi highlighted the financial problems clubs in the first division face. As a cost-saving measure, Cosmos flew to the Mother City on the day they took on Cape Town All Stars. There was a mix-up at the airport that saw the kits and playing cards not arriving in time. Cosmos were fined R50,000 suspended for a year, while All Stars were awarded three points."What has kept me going despite everything is the love I have for the game," Mafu said. "I have a dream of seeing this team in the PSL. It's that dream and the love for the game that keeps me going despite everything."bbk@sundaytimes.co.zangidin@sundaytimes.co.za..