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Cape Town - The Premier Soccer League (PSL) together with the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) has signed a historic bargaining agreement.
This was announced by the PSL chairman Irvin Khoza together with the President of SAFPU Thulaganyo Gaoshobelwe at the League's headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
"The popular game of football is about clubs and players competing at the highest level in the field of play and finding ways of engaging with each other," Khoza said in a statement released.
"Professional football in South Africa has come a long way, it is able to support clubs and players and their families.
"We should all recognise that we cannot succeed without viable clubs and quality players. We will succeed together with players or we will fail together.
"There must be engagement between the League representing Clubs and SAFPU representing players.
"In recent times our (PSL and SAFPU) relationship has been troubled by arguments about the level of representation SAFPU enjoyed‚ the level of compliance with agreements that were in place‚ and arguments from both sides of the divide.
"This led to introspection and an effort from both sides to address the difficult issues and get the relationship back on track. I'm pleased to announce that we have a new commitment and a bargaining document between the PSL and SAPFU."
Gaoshobelwe thanked Dr Khoza and the Board of Governors for a positive interaction during the negotiation period.
"The bargaining agreement signed between the PSL and the Players Union is a positive step towards the right direction. It is something that is long overdue," Gaoshobelwe said.
"As the Player's Union, our primary objective is to look after the player’s well-being and also ensure there is fairness in the process of dealing with contracts and other matters.
"We have always been proud of what the PSL has achieved in the past – a business formed by people from the townships that has become a success story in our country," Gaoshobelwe said.
The agreement outlines, amongst other things, the following:
- A commitment from both parties to enhancing our dispute resolution mechanisms even further. The new improved dispute resolution chamber will not only meet the highest standards of South African law and the FIFA Regulations but ensure equal representation of clubs and players on all the panels that will deal with disputes;
- A commitment from both parties to the continuous improvement of understanding (and so training) of clubs and players on a host matters including: compliance documentation, access to information, club licencing, anti-doping benefits and possibilities of internal dispute resolution; tax compliance requirements; insurance; retirement benefits; and standard contracting procedures among others;
- Clear processes to ensure SAFPU can have access to players at member clubs of the League at least twice a season, as well as an implementation protocol for stop order deductions for SAFPU members;
- Financial support for SAFPU to enable the players union to continue to grow its membership and also participate in campaigns aimed at improving levels of knowledge and understanding of what it takes to be truly professional in this day and age.
