SA Footballers To Receive Financial Fitness Training Through ‘On The Money’
Old Mutual and the SA Football Players Union (SAFPU) signed a partnership that will see Old Mutual roll out its ‘On the Money’ financial wellbeing programme to football players to increase their financial knowledge and help them manage their finances better.
Speaking at the symbolic signing of the partnership, Managing Director of Old Mutual’s Retail Mass Foundation cluster Mr Bongani Madikiza, said: “We’re pleased to be able to contribute to the lives of the footballers by equipping them to make wise financial decisions and thereby also contribute towards building a strong national savings culture. We believe that what is good for South Africa is good for Old Mutual.”
“We all know the tales about well-known, talented footballers who end up in dire situations because they mismanaged their finances. Even if they are highly talented athletes with wonderful opportunities and lucrative sports contracts, the harsh reality is that many players end up destitute because they were not afforded appropriate money skills.”
“By concluding this partnership with SAFPU, we are able to promote financial fitness awareness. As a leading savings and investment champion, Old Mutual brings financial expertise to the party. We are confident that our practical ‘On the Money’ programme and others will not only help players while their solid sporting careers are on the go, but will also ensure that they make wise investment choices for the longer term so that they can look ahead to do great things once they retire from soccer. We certainly hope that our ‘On the Money’ programme will assist in bringing an end to the many ‘from-riches-to-rags’ experiences,” Mr Madikiza said.
President of SAFPU, Mr Hareipha “Simba” Marumo, said, “The Union is very excited about this partnership with Old Mutual. The challenges facing our players are well documented. For far too long our players have been disenfranchised by their lack of knowledge on issues such as finance, which has had devastating impacts on their futures. With Old Mutual’s ‘On the Money’ financial education programme we can look forward to a financially wiser generation of footballers.”
The ‘On the Money’ financial education programme will be rolled out to all South Africa’s professional football bodies, including the PSL, NFD, Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana and all South Africa’s national teams.
BECOMING ROLE MODELS AND EXTENDING FINANCIAL EDUCATION TO COMMUNITIES
In addition to providing financial training to the footballers, the partnership will also see Old Mutual and SAFPU combining their efforts to extend the learnings from the ‘On the Money’ programme to many communities, schools and other development structures. This part of the initiative will also include advice on practising a safe lifestyle, understanding business, being an outstanding citizen (role models) and a mentorship and development component to up and coming footballers.
Mr Madikiza concluded, “Improving savings in South Africa is one of the major socio-economic challenges that we face. It is clear that we need to intensify our efforts to build a more financially astute society and address the low savings levels in our country. We hope that our partnership with the footballers will empower more consumers with financial know-how and sound financial planning.”
