by Thinus Ferreira
SuperSport has dumped its SuperSport United football club that was part of South Africa's Premier Soccer League (PSL) after 31 years, offloading it to Siwelele Football Club.
The move comes as France's Canal+ is getting ready to take over MultiChoice in a billion rand buyout and with Canal+ executives saying they believe MultiChoice has too many brands and are involved in "non-core" business activities.
Calvin Lee John, a business associate of Gayton McKenzie who is South Africa's minister of sport, is behind the purchase of SuperSport United through Siwelele FC.
SuperSport on Thursday afternoon in a terse statement confirmed that it's dumping SuperSport United, with SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha noting that neither SuperSport nor MultiChoice will talk about it "out of respect" for the PSL's "executive committee processes".
SuperSport United, wholly owned until now by SuperSport, is based in Atteridgeville in Gauteng and was founded 31 years ago in 1994.
SuperSport United had a professional football team, as well as various youth academy teams in the SuperSport United Youth Academy, with this youth academy widely seen as one of the best in South Africa
SuperSport United won the Premiership three times in the 2007-2008 season, as well as in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons.
Rendani Ramovha says SuperSport is dumping SuperSport United because "Shifts in the market, as well as the need to innovate in accordance with our core business, have necessitated focused direction to allow SuperSport to remain the best sports content provider on the continent and a leader in broadcast innovation".
Calvin Le John, chairman of the Siwelele FC, in a prepared quote, only says "As Siwelele FC, we are privileged to have been given the responsibility of continuing with a rich winning tradition in the PSL."
"SuperSport and the MultiChoice Group laid an incredible 30-year platform that we wish to build upon, should we get the final vote of approval from the PSL executive committee."