It's #MTN8Final weekend and just in time for the #KnowYourOwner review of @orlandopirates

Frank Chakane
2nd time the charm for Dr Khoza
Kaizer Motaung's role
Iron Dukes sources of income
Scandal and Sono feud
Giving back to community

#DStvPrem #OnceAlways

As usual, I will re-post my disclaimer. I'm not an auditor, accountant nor am I a sports journalist. I am merely a football fan who likes to read up on the financial side of sport and this is all publicly available information.

Let's go

#KnowYourOwner #DStvPrem #OnceAlways

Pirates was formed in 1937 and first played in the Johannesburg Bantu Football Association (JBFA). Today they're one of the biggest and most successful clubs on the continent with nine league trophies and became the first South African side to win the CAF Champions League in 1996

A large part of the history of the club has Dr. Irvin Khoza as the central figure but at the present day, Orlando Pirates have two directors. We will first look at Mr. Franklin Chakane. He was born on 1 January 1942 and has been a director at Pirates since 2006.

There is almost nothing known about his early life and how he came to be a director at Pirates. He is a lot less prolific in his business dealings and is only registered as a director of five companies with four of those being Orlando Pirates related entities.

He's the sole director of Orlando Pirates Players Management which is peculiar as there is no other club that I have reviewed with a player management arm.

In a famous interview with @robertmarawa, Thamsanqa Gabuza spoke about his agent being Dr Khoza and many thought he was joking but the existence of such a company lends credence to what he said.

Onto the Iron Duke, Dr. Khoza

Dr. Irvin Khoza, known as the “Iron Duke”, was born on 27 January 1948 in Alexandra. He attended the Roma Mission School in Alexa before joining Orlando High in Soweto. He attempted furthering his studies at Fort Hare University but was expelled for anti-apartheid activities

He was first brought in to help Pirates in 1972 under the guise of being a lawyer. In a 2012 interview with @Tshiliboy, it's said he left soon after, fearing for his life, but the reason for that exit wasn't divulged. In the throw forward to that interview, Matshelane notes....

... "His return to what was fast becoming a sinking ship was contrived by Kaizer Motaung et al. And “studying” the Kaizer Chiefs el supremo, coupled with Khoza’s incredible streetwise savvy, helped the man referred to as the ‘Iron Duke’ turn Pirates into the top outfit they are."

Since his return to Orlando Pirates in the 90's as club secretary, Pirates have achieved unprecedented success on and off the pitch. Whether wearing his administrators hat or in personal business, Dr. Khoza's career similarly reached dizzying heights.

#OnceAlways #KnowYourOwner

He's Chairman of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) which has become one of the richest leagues on the continent and is also a vice-president of the South African Football Association (SAFA). He was also chairperson of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee..

In 2004, he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Zululand. In March 2009, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) honoured him with an inauguration as the newly appointed Honorary Colonel of Logistical Division of the SANDF.

In 2011, former President Jacob Zuma honored Dr. Khoza with the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold. He was awarded for his excellent contribution to, and dedication in helping South Africa obtain the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and ensuring it was a success

Onto the money..

Dr. Khoza has been involved in many businesses and in total I counted 42 companies in varying sectors including K M S Marketing & Promotions, Windy City Properties, Moneyline, Sethula Properties, ZOK Cellular, Tunache Investments and TSG Tax Professionals to name but a few.

Perhaps the biggest and most lucrative was his directorship of two fuel and chemicals businesses, Naledi Petroleum Holdings and Exel Petroleum. Excel Petroleum was chaired by former player turned football administrator, Ephraim Jomo Sono and was 100% owned by Naledi.

Sasol Oil and Exel Petroleum announced that they planned to merge in 2003 in a major empowerment deal that would result in Sasol entering the South African retail fuel market . Exel’s turnover was more than R2,3-billion excluding levies in 2002 and operating profit around R100m

At the time Exel had 89 service stations with 3.7% share of the petrol market and 7% of the diesel market. The Competition Tribunal approved the merger in February 2005 and both Dr. Khoza and Mr. Sono resigned from Naledi a year later in 2005.

#KnowYourOwner #OnceAlways

Another business in which Dr. Khoza is a director is Boitshepo Investments which was registered in 2007. According to a 2016 Intellidex report titled "Who Owns The Media" and a subsequent 2019 ICASA Compliance report, Boitshepo Investments owns 8% of radio station, Classic FM.

Another is in the financial services sector through his directorship of Global Foreign Exchange. According to D&B Hoovers, the company was started in 1999 and employs roughly 159 employees across its branches and generates yearly sales up to $30.86 million per annum.

Dr. Khoza has also had interests in property and in 2004, he got Pirates into a deal with a company called Interza Lesego to form a consortium to manage the Ellis Park World Of Sport precinct. The consortium had 51% stake in the deal with Pirates retaining a 21% stake.

He hasn't had it all his own way though. Publications have written about alleged run-ins with tax authorities, insurance claim scandals and rumors about multiple identity documents. I found nothing to confirm this and he's never been convicted as far as I can gather.

There was a case lodged at the Labour Court by Julius Sono, brother to Jomo Sono and son of Pirates legend Eric Sono, in 2014 in which he alleged that Khoza was not the rightful owner of the club. The matter was eventually settled and Mr Sono withdrew the charges.

To end off this Know Your Owner review we will look at the philanthropic efforts of the club and its owners. They have done a lot for the community in and around Orlando Soweto. The flagship initiative is the establishment of a number of learning centers

The Orlando Pirates Learning Centres, supported by Acer Africa and Vodacom, officially launched in October 2012. The centers are a unique project designed to assist and improve the numeracy, literacy and ICT skills of the children living in and around the Orlando township.

Orlando Pirates often collaborate with their official sponsor, Adidas, and other organizations to give back to the community through initiatives such as the 67 minutes for Mandela, street cleanups or Ecobrick home building

The owners of Orlando Pirates have real skin in this game and have put it all on he line for their team. Without Dr Khoza in particular, there probably wont be a PSL in the way we know it today and I am of the view that we owe him a great debt of gratitude for that.

And so I conclude my Know Your Owner review into Orlando Pirates

You can read the longer version and find sources for this #KnowYourOwner thread https://www.cashnsport.com/post/know-your-owner-orlando-pirates