Philly Mathebula, the man behind the popular Philly’s Games has revealed how the tournament has become the most successful and professionally run amateur tournament in the country.
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What started out as a tournament to facilitate peace between two rival factions of Tembisa 31 years ago, has now turned into a highly profitable business, which includes television broadcast, a host of corporate sponsors and job creation within the community of Tembisa, and beyond.
They also manage to attract crowds of over 13 000 spectators per day across different venues in Tembisa.
But what is different about the Philly’s games?
Speaking to the Siya crew, the charismatic founder of the tournament attributes their strict ‘no favours’ policy in implementing their requirements and standards for the showcase.
“Look, there is nothing that we do different – it’s just that we are consistent,” Mathebula says.
“We don’t do any favours. We put structures and we follow them, and we expect people who work with us to follow the rules and we monitor that. And we make sure that there are no favours to individuals and friends, and we make sure that we are all the same size. What we promise – we deliver, that’s what makes these games a success,” he added.
Asked about the game changing nature of broadcast giant SuperSport coming on board to showcase the games live, Mathebula says it not only enables them to reach a wider audience, but it has sparked thoughts of expansion into other provinces.
“Sponsorship. You lose revenue, but you will always get it with more sponsors that you bring on board because the viewers can watch it on TV, and it can reach more people. When we had no TV here, the 13 000 people would watch but not the whole country.
“Now I am getting calls from Maputo, Ghana, Nigeria, and I tell them that I am coming there,” he quirked.
The Philly’s Games are set to conclude on 2 January where the winners will pocket a R200 000, the runners-up receive R70 000, while the bronze medalists and fourth place finishers will get R20 000 and R10 000, respectively.
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