Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Robson Sharuko
10 July 2009
Harare — MONOMOTAPA could lose a substantial chunk of their earnings from this year's Champions League with at least US$180 000 going to settle the production costs of the live television transmission of their home matches in a battle to conquer the continent that could leave them struggling in debt.
If the Harare club fails to qualify for the semi-finals, chances are that all their earnings from their mini-league games could be diverted to settle the costs of the live television coverage of the three home games they will play in their group.
A place in the semi-finals, with the big boost in earnings that comes with such success, could see Monomotapa remaining with slightly more than US$200 000 in earnings after the production costs have been erased from their share.
Monomotapa's predicament comes in the wake of a report by the Confederation of African Football this week that the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings appear not to have the required equipment for the live television transmission of the team's home Champions League matches.
It's a carbon copy of the situation that Dynamos found themselves in during their Champions League run last season where they ended up losing about half of their earnings from a share of US$427 500 to the cost of the live transmission of their four home matches.
Monomotapa are guaranteed a minimum US$190 000 in prize money their share coming from the television rights from their home matches during the group games matches of their participation in the mini-league phase of the Champions League.
In the event that they finish third in their group, the Harare club will get US$261 250 as their share of the prize money, which is derived from the television rights related to their home matches.
A semi-final place will see Monomotapa's earnings shoot to US$427 500, with a runners-up place getting them US$665 000 and a cool US$950 000 being the prize should they win the competition.
However, the actual amount that will go into the Monomotapa coffers will be less the production costs of the live television transmission of their home matches depending on how far they would have gone in the competition.
With Caf revealing this week that it will cost Monomotapa about US$60 000 just to cover the production costs of the live television coverage of one Champions League match, it means that the club is likely to receive nothing, in prize money, should it fail to qualify for the semi-finals.
Caf gives the first option, for the live coverage of the Champions League matches, to the national broadcaster which will then cover the matches without levying the clubs in return for a free feed of the match to air on their channel in their country. But Caf's agents Sportfive have strict specifications related to the quality of the production given that they would be beaming the signal in other countries across the world.
They have certain minimum requirements which they want guaranteed by the national broadcaster failure of which the job is passed to some private companies that have been doing business with both Caf and Sportfive in the past. This is where clubs lose a fortune in terms of television rights since the equipment and expertise provided by such private companies unlike the national broadcaster comes at a huge cost which has to be borne by the club.
Given that Monomotapa will also invest heavily in air-fares, bonuses, allowances and the cost of hosting the visiting teams, such a scenario could leave the Harare club in serious debt should it fail to get either corporate or Government support to back its battle to try and conquer the continent.
Monomotapa will also pay for the air travel of the match officials who will handle their home matches, their accommodation, food and transport during their stay here. The Harare club has already run a massive bill in fulfilling its Champions League matches in a campaign that has taken them to Tanzania, South Africa and Cote d'Ivoire.
Monomotapa could have been left in a better position financially if Caf had ruled that they could use ZBH equipment for the live television transmission of their home matches.
This appeared to be the case in May when ZBH chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere wrote a letter to Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya advising her that the national broadcaster had the capacity to handle the Champions League coverage. "Please be informed that a meeting concerning coverage of Monomotapa's home matches in the Caf Champions League was held at Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings on the 20th of May 2009," wrote Muchechetere.
"(It was) attended by Zifa chairman Wellington Nyatanga, SportFive representative Felix Sapao, Monomotapa directors and ZBH management. "It is our pleasure to inform you that ZBH has the capacity to meet the technical requirements as spelt out by Caf Form Five."
French company Sportfive hold the television rights for the Champions League and any live broadcast has to be done according to their strict specifications. Documents show that Sportfive have been in correspondence with Monomotapa officials in which there have been indications that the club will use the outside broadcast van owned by Zimbabwe Cricket and managed by Mighty Movies for their live television transmission of games.
Recently, Sportfive's Paule Revelle wrote to RP Productions the South African firm that produced Dynamos' home Champions League matches last year advising them of Monomotapa's decision to use the Zimbabwe Cricket OB Van. "I had the privilege of having Bekithemba (Ndlovu) of the Monomotapa club," wrote Revelle.
"Beki indicated during the telephone conversation that he was booking the Cricket Association OB van and would pay the invoice from the estimation that he received from the Cricket Association. "He further told me that he was booking directly the SNG of Dimensions so that this does not change anything in our plans of having: l The OB Van of the Cricket Association (managed by Mighty Movies) l The SNG of Dimensions TV (managed by RP Productions), except for the invoicing that will be directly done to the club.
"Beki further announced that he has or will send the specifications of the SNG to the Ministry of Information in order to facilitate the crossing of the border and obtain the necessary permissions, visas.
"Please keep me informed at all the time and give date of crossing the border, date of arrival of all crews, time of rigging the OB at the stadium and all the usual information.
"Please also indicate the identification and registration number of the SNG so that I may confirm the space that I booked on W3 A AFRICA/EUROPE." However, this week, Caf secretary-general Mustapha Fahmy wrote a letter to Zifa that appears to completely change all the arrangements that were being put in place for the live coverage of the Monomotapa home matches.
The latest correspondence does not only end ZBH's interests in the live coverage of the matches, according to Sportfive, but also puts Monomotapa under the spotlight now that the club could be billed a fortune for that exercise likely to be conducted by foreign expertise.
"We have been informed by Sportfive, Caf official agent for the marketing of TV and Publicity rights, that your national TV cannot provide the TV production and the international signal of your home matches in conformity with the host broadcaster requirements and up to the standard required by the satellites," wrote Fahmy. "Sportfive is proposing to provide the necessary equipment for the TV production of your home matches noting that the cost of this equipment is 43 500 euros (about US$60 000) per match.
"You are kindly requested to give us your approval to deduct the said amount from the financial rewards of your team or to confirm the ability of your national television to ensure the TV production and a quality of signal conforming to the requirements of the host broadcaster."
The sudden twist in the case has also surprised Zifa given the earlier assurance that came from ZBH that that they had the capacity to handle the exercise and Rushwaya has since written to Monomotapa director Solomon Mugavazi asking for guidance.
"Please find attached an e-mail from Caf," wrote Rushwaya in reference to the communication from Fahmy. "Kindly advise on the response that I am supposed to submit to them since I don't want my fingers burnt. "Remember ZBH wrote to me after your meeting with the Zifa chairman and Felix Sapao advising me of their capacity to handle the matches?
"So what has suddenly changed? I stand to be guided accordingly."
Rushwaya said last night she was trying to avoid a situation similar to the controversy that surrounded Dynamos' proceeds from the Champions League last season.
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