War between the SABC and the South African Football Association over broadcasting rights escalate as Safa gets ready to ask parliament for permission to dump the SABC and not be forced to sell rights to the struggling public broadcaster.

The South African Football Association (Safa) is ramping up it fight with the SABC and now plans to go to parliament to request that it be allowed to dump the SABC when it comes to the sale of local Bafana Bafana football rights and be allowed to sell rights commercially for what it's really worth to broadcasters who are actually able to pay for it.

Safa is sick of the SABC and no longer wants to be compelled to sell broadcasting rights of the national men and women's football matches to the basically bankrupt South African public broadcaster that isn't able to pay for it or to pay what the matches are worth.

Safa wants to be allowed to sell its rights commercially to broadcasters able to pay what Safa can get for licensing rights, in line with what national rugby and cricket get for broadcasting rights.

Safa and the beleaguered SABC are in a growing standoff over the broadcasting rights of the Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana national soccer teams, with the minister of sports, Tokozile Xasa and the minister of communications, Nomvula Mokonyane, who lied earlier this year when they said they had intervened to settle problems between Safa and the SABC - but who have both since been completely silent on the matter.

The Sunday Times reports that Safa plans on going to parliament's portfolio committee on sports in the escalating war between Safa and the SABC.

The cash-strapped SABC has made an extremely lowball offer of only R10 million for the Safa broadcasting rights, while it reportedly paid R235 million for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rights.

Safa demanded R200 million for the Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana broadcasting rights for the new season after it got R150 million previously for the season that ended in April, and which the SABC was extremely late with paying.

Safa said it was however willing to renew its deal with the SABC for soccer rights for R110 million per year, but even this was too much for the SABC.

Russell Paul, acting Safa CEO, called the situation with the SABC unable and unwilling to pay for Bafana broadcasting rights and what it's worth, "untenable".

"We said, guys, if it's a problem for the public broadcaster to be able to pay this, then remove us from this stipulation [of having to work with the SABC over sport of national interest] so that we can then exploit our rights commercially in the same manner as cricket and rugby," said Russell Paul.

South Africa's local national rugby rights are worth R670 million and the local national cricket rights are worth R200 million.

"In the last two discussions we have had with them - and this is with the top leadership of the SABC - the position was we do not have money and we want to be a responsible broadcaster and therefore we cannot spend money," Safa said.

The SABC said it would make a submission to parliament's portfolio committee on sport about the issue, if asked.

SABC, South African Football Association confirm that the public broadcaster will show the national football team's 2019 Afcon qualifier against Libya on Saturday on SABC1.

The SABC on Thursday confirmed that despite problems with the South African Football Association (Safa) that the South African public broadcaster on Saturday will broadcast the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier match between the South African national football team, Bafana Bafana, and Libya.

It comes after a drawn-out payment dispute between Safa and the SABC with the public broadcaster that owes the football organisation millions of rands in non-payment, and with both organisations who have been at loggerheads over ongoing broadcasting rights of Bafana matches.

Safa gave the SABC an ultimatum to either pay a third of the R50 million owed in the previous overdue contract, or face a complete blackout.

Danny Jordaan, Safa president, and members of the SABC board met on Wednesday night to try and hammer out a resolution but the crisis was only resolved on Thursday.

Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson told the soccer site KickOff that the upcoming 2019 Afcon qualifier on Saturday between Bafana Bafana and Libya at the Moses Mabhinda stadium in Durban will be broadcast on SABC1. The kick-off time of the game is 15:00.

"Yes, we will be broadcasting it live on SABC1, including all of our African language radio stations, as well as Radio 2000," Neo Momodu said.

"I don't know if you can call it a problem or a challenge or whatever you wanna call it. Discussions between SABC and Safa, they are still ongoing. What is relevant to the SABC at this stage is the fact that they will be getting the game," Neo Momodu said.

The match will also be broadcast on SuperSport on Saturday at 15:00.

Danny Jordaan, Safa president in a statement late on Thursday said "we are pleased to announce that we have resolved the outstanding issues and I would like to thank the SABC in making sure that the nation will watch their favourite sport on the national broadcaster."

"I would also like to thank the ministries of sport and recreation and communications for working hard to resolve this matter."

SABC to show all away games of Bafana Bafana played outside of South Africa again on SABC1 from 2016 in a new 3-year deal with SportFive.

From 2016 the SABC will go back to once again broadcast all the away games of South Africa's national soccer team, Bafana Bafana on public television on SABC1 in a new deal worth millions of rand with SportFive.

This follows after years of the SABC not having the broadcasting rights to Bafana Bafana matches played outside of South Africa and the public broadcaster not willing to pay the much high per match broadcasting rights fees for individual games from the French based company SportFive, saying its too expensive.

SportFive is the official Confederation of African Football (CAF) broadcasting rights holder who sells the broadcasting rights for all of the organisation's tournaments and once-off games to individual companies and broadcasters like the SABC.

In July last year the SABC told parliament that paying for sports rights is putting the SABC under enormous financial pressure and that the public broadcaster cannot continue to pay R500 million per year for sports broadcasting rights.

The SABC told parliament that the revenue the public broadcaster derives from sports coverage does not cover its costs with a shortfall of millions of rand per year and that the SABC cannot continue to pay for sports rights going forward in the future on a unsustainable basis.

In 2015 the SABC went blank on Bafana Bafana several times as the public broadcaster was a no show with matches the national team played outside of South Africa's boarders, but will start showing these again from 2016.

It's part of a new 3-year from 2016 to 2019 that was signed on Tuesday between the SABC and SportFive as the CAF broadcast rights holders.

The new deal between the SABC and SportFive means that all of the remaining 2017 Afcon qualifier matches, as well as the 2018 World Cup qualifiers will be broadcast on SABC1.

"We agreed on the final phases of the African Cup of Nations in Gabon in 2017," says Idriss Akki, SportFive managing director. "Part of the deal is also the next Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 in Cameroon where we agreed on the qualifier matches and on the final phase. 

SABC lying over having Bafana Bafana TV broadcasting rights say Siyaya TV and SAFA; Siyaya TV says its actually busy negotiating with e.tv.

The SABC is lying over claims to have secured Bafana Bafana TV rights to show any national team soccer games on television and no valid contract with the SABC exists, pay-TV operator Siyaya TV and SAFA say.

In a joint statement, the South African Football Association (SAFA) and Siyaya TV, the new pay-TV consortium, said the SABC is lying.

It comes after the public broadcaster's famously matricless and highly controversial chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng on Wednesday said the SABC and SAFA have reached a 3-year agreement over the broadcasting rights to show all local Bafana Bafana games, Banyana Banyana, as well as the men's under-20 and under-23 games.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng went on SABC2's Morning Live on Wednesday to announce the deal - which Siyaya TV and SAFA say doesn't exist.

Siyaya TV which got its pay-TV licence from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) in November 2014, now threatens to sue the SABC if for instance the Banyana 2016 Olympic qualifying game on Sunday against Gabon is broadcast.

Siyaya TV owns the rights to all of the national soccer games after the consortium last year signed a R1 billion contract with SAFA in a 6-year deal and says it's actually busy negotiating with Sabido's free-to-air commercial TV channel e.tv to show the national soccer games.

After Hlaudi Motsoeneng bragged on Morning Live over securing the rights, the SABC also issued a press statement in which it said the SABC's agreement to show Bafana and other national team games will run from 2015 to 2017, with the SABC giving soccer-loving South Africans "an opportunity to see their national teams in action".

"The SABC will continue to prioritize sports of national importance," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng, while the SABC statement also included a quote from SAFA CEO, Dennis Mumble, saying "We value the loyal audience that the SABC has always delivered to our national teams and have agreed to partner with the SABC to strenghten that bons with our supporters. We thank the SABC for ensuring the South African public enjoys the national teams on live television and radio".

In a joint statement from SAFA and Siyaya TV, the two organisations say "SAFA wishes to place on record that Siyaya TV is and will remain a long-term strategic broadcast partner of SAFA. We emphatically reject any speculation or statements to the contrary."

"The partnership between the two parties [SAFA and Siyaya TV] has enabled SAFA to take its broadcast platform to an entirely new level, which will now enable soccer-loving fans greater access to the beautiful game".

In another separate statement Siyaya TV's founder Aubrey Tau launched a scathing attack on the SABC and Hlaudi Motsoeneng's claims, saying the public broadcaster is lying over having any broadcasting rights.

"The SABC does not hold any of the broadcasting rights to Bafana matches, and therefore cannot claim otherwise. Any position taken by the SABC that it holds the Bafana Bafana broadcast rights is false and misleading," says Siyaya TV.

"Siyaya TV is the sole and exclusive owner of these rights, in terms of its signed contract with SAFA".

Aubrey Tau says Siyaya TV approached the SABC two months ago in order to discuss the granting of free-to-air broadcasting rights to the SABC, but that Siyaya TV was "summarily rejected by the SABC who refused to deal with Siyaya TV on the matter".

"Siyaya TV has since not heard directly from the SABC, but has in the meantime been in talks with SAFA regarding the possible granting of free-to-air broadcast rights to the SABC, and is at the same time also engaged with e.tv in similar discussions".

"Siyaya TV has made no commitments to and signed no contracts with any other broadcasters regarding the soccer broadcasting rights, and remains the sole and exclusive owner of these rights at this point in time," says Aubrey Tau.