Contract details of Mokwena and Mngqithi shared in court in the case between Sundowns and Mosimane’s management team

Sundowns are the plaintiff in this matter and are suing MT Sports and Mosimane, demanding his agency to pay a portion of the R8,6 million agency fees on a pro-rata basis from a contract that was signed in May 2020, just before the former Bafana Bafana coach left for A Ahly in Egypt four months later. SABC Sport senior reporter Velile Mnyandu was at the Johannesburg High Court on Monday with Mosimane also in attendance, and he has compiled this report.

READ: Bowlers power Proteas to victory in T20 World Cup opener against Sri Lanka

“At the heart of Sundowns' argument in this lawsuit is clause 6.5 on Mosimane's contract, a crucial point of contention - which stipulates that MT Sports is expected to pay back a portion of the agency fees, should the coach leave the club before his contract lapses. Tlhagale, who is also Mosimane's wife, argued that she was being discriminated against because of her race and gender,'' unpacks Mnyandu.

At the heart of Sundowns’ argument in this lawsuit is clause 6.5 on Mosimane’s contract, a crucial point of contention, which stipulates that MT Sports is expected to pay back a portion of the agency fees should the coach leave the club before his contract lapses. Tlhagale, who is also Mosimane’s wife, argued that she was being discriminated against because of her race and gender. Through their legal representatives, Mabuza attorneys, they subpoenaed the contracts of Mosimane’s former assistants during his time at Sundowns Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi, and agreements of their agencies, JDR Consulting (Steve Kapelushnik) and ProSport International (Mike Makaab) respectively. 

In the evidence of Ms. Tlhagale, which was led by her legal representative, Adv. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, the differences in the contracts of Kapelushnik and Makaab were shown as evidence in court.

 The court heard that MT Sports were paid an amount of R8, 632, 230.00 as a commission for the services rendered in negotiating Mosimane’s contract in 2020. The amount was 10 percent of the full duration of Mosimane’s contract, which was to

expire in June 2024.  But Sundowns had inserted a clause that should Mosimane not fulfill the full 44 months duration of the contract, a portion of the agency fees should be paid back.

MT Sports, in their defense, presented the contracts of Mokwena and Mngqithi, as well as the intermediary agreements of Kapelushnik and Makaab with the club, in court. They highlighted the absence of the 'claw back' clause in these contracts, which is a key point in their argument. Tlhagale testified that Makaab paid a total amount of R984 000.00 for negotiating Mngqithi’s contract in July 2020 for the contract that was going to run from 01 July 2020 to 30 June 2024.

During the cross-examination, Sundowns’ legal representative, Senior Counsel Vincent Maleka, probed Tlhagale on her request that the commission be paid upfront rather than over the duration of the employment period.

She responded to the court by saying this was a norm in the industry and presented the contract of Makaab, who was also paid his agency fees at the conclusion of Mngqithi’s contract negotiations in July 2020, and his contract, unlike Mosimane’s agent did not have a claw back clause. And for this, Tlhagale argued that she was being discriminated against.

Kapelushnik had a different intermediary agreement than Tlhagale and Makaab and received his agency fees on an annual basis from the commencement of the season until the end of the contract.

Based on the current contract of the head coach (Mokwena), he received a total of R799 100.00 on or before 15 July 2003 from Sundowns, and should the head coach still be employed by Sundowns from 1 July 2024 until 30 June 2025, he’s expected to be paid another commission of R763 000.00 by the 15th of July 2024, once a tax invoice has been submitted to Sundowns. Mokwena’s current four-year deal runs until June 2027.

Mokwena also doesn’t have a claw back clause on his contract like Mosimane, which would force Kapelushnik to pay back the money he had already received if his coach were to leave Sundowns.

The case will continue today, but Mosimane, who arrived in the country this past weekend from Saudi Arabia, where he had been coaching, will no longer take a witness stand as originally planned. He was present in court on Monday during the proceedings.