SOWETO MARATHON TRUST MEDIA RELEASE 9 September 2013 OFFICIAL CANCELLATION OF THE SOWETO MARATHON 'The Soweto Marathon Trust (“Trust”) today announced the official cancellation of the 2013 edition of the Soweto Marathon. “We (the Trust) would like to regretfully inform the South African and African road running fraternity, particularly the runners who have devotedly participated in the Soweto Marathon (“Race”) over the years, as well as the sports-loving South African public at large, that the Board of Trustees (“BoT”) of the Trust, in conjunction with Soweto athletics clubs, has decided to cancel this year’s Race”, said Mr Sello Khunou, Chairperson of the Trust. “I would like to emphasize the fact that this was not an easy decision at all for us to take. We take a little bit of solace in knowing that we practically did everything that we could in our powers to try and save the Race, but unfortunately without cooperation from Athletics South Africa, our efforts proved unsuccessful. On behalf of the Trust, I take this opportunity to offer our sincere apology to all concerned. “We readily acknowledge the fact that this is a sad day for road running in our country. However, we do not believe that it is time for us to sit back and lick our wounds. On the contrary, we believe that it is time for us to pick up the pieces, to dig deep into our collective resourcefulness, and to start mobilizing our resources in order to ensure that this never happens again. “On the other hand, we believe that we have a duty to inform the public that we put the cancellation of this year’s Race squarely at Athletics South Africa’s door. We do not intend to engage in a blame game, all we want is to put the facts on the table. In this regard, ASA is clearly the elephant in the room in this matter. We wish to state without mincing our words, that it is primarily the current on-going in-fighting within ASA that has practically helped to dissuade potential sponsors for the Race, and ruined our chances of securing a sponsor for the Race”, continued Mr Khunou. “But that is not all. On 19 August we requested an urgent meeting with the president of Athletics South Africa (“ASA”), Mr James Evans, in order to discuss with him our plight regarding the staging of this year’s Race. When Mr Evans could not meet with us timeously, we decided to send him our written proposal on how ASA could help us save this year’s Race (please see the attached document). Mr Evans only managed to meet with us on 5 September. In the said meeting we made an appeal to him to let us have the Broadcast Rights Fee (to which we are fully entitled) that was paid by the SABC for the Race. “Mr Evans informed us that he cannot let us have the Broadcast Rights Fee for the Race, because the money is already earmarked for settling some or other ASA’s debts. We then informed him that in that case we had no alternative but to cancel this year’s Race. To our surprise, Mr Evans responded by saying that he can get a sponsor for the Race, on condition that ASA gets to organize the Race. We asked Mr Evans about the reason for the conditionality, and whether it came from him (ASA) or the potential sponsor, and he could not answer our question. The Trust rejected Mr Evans’ offer. “We are convinced that had we received from ASA the TV Broadcast Rights Fee for the Race, cancellation of this year’s Race could have been avoided. It is a well-known fact that ASA is experiencing serious financial difficulties. It is also a well-known fact that these financial difficulties are self-inflicted. But this does not justify Mr Evans using some dictatorial powers to grab money meant for the organization of the Soweto Marathon, to settle ASA’s debts. “Mr Evans’ act of grabbing the TV Broadcast Rights Fee for the Race amounts to blatant robbery. We wish to state without flinching, that Mr Evans was dishonest in dealing with the whole matter of TV Broadcast Rights for the Soweto Marathon. It is against this background that we have no alternative but to question Mr Evans’ ulterior motives. We also wish to make it abundantly clear, that we will not honour an agreement that we have never seen, in which we only have obligations, but no corresponding rights (the agreement between ASA and the SABC re TV Broadcast Rights for the Soweto Marathon)”, added Mr Khunou. “It is clear that the rot within ASA is not only destroying ASA, but that it is now beginning to consume iconic events like the Soweto Marathon, slowly but surely. Lest we forget, the Soweto Marathon was the very first marathon to be organized in a so-called black township. The Race is the biggest marathon in Africa, and it remains the only beacon of hope for the development of athletics in Soweto. “It is not for us to be judgmental, but we believe that the rot within ASA has been allowed to fester for far too long. It is obvious, to us at least, that the leadership of ASA that is currently at war with itself is unable to stop the rot. It is against this background that we would like to make an urgent call to the Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr Fikile Mbalula, to make a decisive and urgent intervention in athletics, and to order ASA elections as a matter of extreme urgency. We are afraid that failure by the Minister to intervene with immediate effect will take the decay of the sport to a point at which it will take decades to reverse”, concluded Mr Khunou'. End......
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 14:15:48 +0000
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