SAFA blasts Prem stars

08 September 2009 09:42
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has blasted the involvement of past and present Premier League stars in a new Academy in Cape Town. Ian Wright, Mart Poom, Julio Arca, Stephen Warnock, Alex Song, Danny Collins and Mamady Sidibe are alleged to have all invested in Africa Soccer Developments, which has formed an Academy associated to newly-formed Cape United FC. The investors are then understood to receive a 40 per cent cut of a fee if graduates are signed by any club from Europe in the future, which has caused controversy at a time when British teams are being criticised for transfer methods. Raymond Hack, chief executive of SAFA, has slammed the scheme and insists it does not have official clearance in South Africa, who host next summer's World Cup. He said in the Daily Mail: "I have never heard of this Academy and they have certainly not been endorsed by SAFA. "They can't come in without having the sanction or endorsement from the national association and the sports department or the education department. "It's against new regulations which were introduced last year."

Source: SKY_Sports